Nightshade Academy of Magic
by Sinclairum
Summary: Sirius is dead. The Dursleys are dead. His friends are next in line. What can Harry possibly do? A new school invites Harry to its numbers and Harry readily agrees, ready to train his new powers. Post OTP. Possible slash. Rating will change in future
1. A Black Letter

Story: Nightshade Academy of Magic

Summary: Harry has suffered the loss of Sirius and the Dursleys, now he must leave his friends behind to prevent them from being harmed by Voldemort who will use them as a tool to weaken Harry's resolve. He accepts the invitation to attend Nightshade Academy of Magic, an interspecies school that focuses on being prepared for every situation, an ideal reiterated in their latin motto. Numquam non paratus - never unprepared. Resolved to his decision, he must endeavor so he will survive his next encounters with Voldemort. However can he survive school first? Fae, Elves, Incubuses, Vampires and etc thrown into the mix.

Warning: Highly likely to contain slash in the future depending on the reception by readers with an OMC. Rated M for future chapters and language.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Harry Potter which belongs to their respective owners.

A/N: This has been in my computer for ages and i've finally put it on ff. Sorry for any mistakes that i have overlooked.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1<strong>__: A Black Letter_

Harry was being watched.

He knew that Kingsley was patrolling around his backyard because of the height and shape of the shadow that was being cast by a seemingly non-existent being. Harry snickered and waved at the figure from his bedroom window that started in surprise and froze before quickly walking off out of Harry's sight.

No, this was different. This was a new presence that seemed to radiate a subtle power, not so strong that it was overwhelming and oppressive like Voldemort's but niggled at the back of the mind, something forgotten until brought up to attention.

Harry, however, was feeling particularly susceptive to this power and could not put it out of his mind. It was dark and seductive, something that Harry discovered he was very attracted to. He could not stop thinking about it when doing his daily chores and resolutely stared at the ground whenever he was outside weeding the garden as to not betray that he knew of the presence that was certainly not far off and watching him. However, instinctively he felt something a few feet from the left of him and his eyes flickered in that direction regularly despite never seeing any physical sign of anything.

No. This was definitely different.

He had dismissed the likelihood that it was a Death Eater straightaway as they usually did not have the level of intelligence to conceal all clues of presence from Harry who's seeker trained eyes usually caught everything.

Unless it was Voldemort himself, Harry thought worryingly. He shook his head in denial. Voldemort's magic was nothing like this. Heaving a sigh, he sat back on his haunches and arched his back to stretch the muscles that had cramped over his long session of weeding. The hot sun beat down on him and Harry wiped the sweat from his brow trying to ignore the laughter of the Dursleys as they reclined in the air-conditioned living room. He pursed his lips in annoyance and hissed as the sweat dripped into the cuts on his hands from weeding without gloves. The cuts always healed by the next day which was a blessing and a curse since he always had soft skin but the lack of calluses meant renewed pain every single time he weeded.

Harry resumed weeding, his hair flicking through the air as he grabbed and pulled the weeds with renewed force fuelled by his anger, which seemed to reflect in the way the presence of power pulsed around him. Giving a slight gasp at the feeling, Harry could not help but feel slightly aroused at the sensation. Jerkily he got up and ran towards the door, which he slammed close behind him.

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><p>The man smiled as he observed his young quarry. The boy was thin and had a slightly underfed look but was built with muscles like a panther, strong and powerful but slim and fast. Despite looking too thin, he was very beautiful.<p>

The man gazed at the slightly damp raven black hair as it swished about, the pale skin that did not seem to tan despite how much time Harry spent in the gardens and the wonderful bright green eyes that continually flickered in his direction. He was also very observant, unusually so for an untrained human.

Shifting slightly and taking a few steps towards his new quarry, he instantly saw the numerous cuts and scratches that marred the otherwise perfect skin on Harry' pale hands. The man's anger flared along with his power at this treatment and resisted the urge to reach out and heal the cuts by placing a chaste kiss on those delicate fingers. Harry jumped underneath his gaze and scurried towards the door like a startled cat.

Leaning back and smiling again as he watched the curtains in Harry's window being yanked closed he thought, definitely an excellent potential student for Nightshade Academy. From his robes, the man extracted a black envelope with Harry Potter stamped in gold lettering and held it up in front of his face. Placing a small kiss on the red wax seal, he then blew lightly, watching as it disintegrated into particles and floated towards Harry's window.

_I'll see you soon, kitten._

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><p>The next morning, Harry woke with unblemished hands but that didn't remove the soreness of the invisible cuts and the way his body burned because Dudley had happily used him as a punching bag while Uncle Vernon watched and Aunt Petunia yelled at them to stop. That had earned her a slap across her face and she stayed silent afterwards. Harry had managed to dodge most of the punches thanks to his seeker reflexes however when he had stumbled and fell to the floor, the best he could do was curl up and protect his vitals from Dudley's brutal kicks.<p>

After the two had left, Aunt Petunia had gathered Harry's too light body in her arms and deposited him on his threadbare bed with a whisper of, "Sorry," and a soft pat on the head. Knowing that he still had at least one ally in the house reassured Harry but didn't take away the pain.

Harry groaned as he slowly shifted off the bed. His natural healing magic helped a great deal at times like these but it seemed that last night's attack was something that was past his body's abilities. Reaching underneath the loose floorboard, he pulled up a healing potion and a blood-replenishing potion that he had made over the holidays. Without the close scrutiny of Snape and Slytherins throwing things into his cauldron, Harry managed fairly well in potions, his skills in cooking working favorably for him.

He downed the two potions, grimacing slightly at the taste. That aspect of the potion Harry had not managed to improve despite all of his efforts in experimenting. Feeling the effects of the potion wash over him soothingly, he reached into his drawer to take out the healing salve but froze when he saw a black letter with his name sitting on the bedside table. Carefully, he reached out with his hand and poked it cautiously. Seeing and feeling no ill effects he picked up the letter and inspected the seal.

_**Nightshade Academy**_

Nightshade? Harry thought curiously, running his fingers of the seal lingeringly as he debated whether to open the letter or not.

"What do you think girl?" he asked Hedwig. She observed the letter carefully and gave an encouraging hoot. Harry shrugged and broke the wax seal, tugging out the letter, which was penned carefully.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_You have been accepted as a student at the esteemed Nightshade Academy of Magic._

_Hang on, what?_ Harry thought furiously, _I haven't even applied yet so how can I be accepted?_ Increasingly puzzled, he continued to read.

_Your application for a position at this school is automatic and is processed as soon as you reach all requirements made by Nightshade Academy. The requirements are as follows:_

_The amount of magical power you possess (otherwise termed as the size of your magical core)_

_The passing of a visual test whereby you are subjected to be watched over a period of time by a member of our staff for approval._

_You have passed both requirements admirably; Mr. Potter and we would be delighted to have you as a student._

_It remains ultimately your choice whether to attend the Academy. If you say the school motto 'Numquam non paratus' this letter will become a portkey and will transport you to a station where you will be allowed to board the train to our Academy if you pass two security checks. _

_If this letter does not receive a reply within 10 days, it will self-destruct and erase any memory or evidence of this incidence with it. Nightshade Academy is a prestigious school only offered to the best (_Harry snorted_, you mean most powerful) and we are aware of your situation. You will be catered for accordingly. Harry Potter, you could very well use what we are offering in your fight against Voldemort._

_Headmistress Merkovich_

_Nightshade Academy of Magic_

Harry stared at the letter. Well, at least they were extremely straightforward at the end. Harry knew that his magical power had grown slightly when Sirius had died; it had caused him to go on a violent rampage and destroy Dumbledore's office. Not particularly guilty about that yet either, Harry thought with a snicker. Harry's mood became somber. He had not gotten over Sirius' death and he highly doubted he ever completely would.

However, he had finally come to terms with the facts that it was not his fault that Sirius had died. That lay completely and wholly with Voldemort who was the cause and catalyst of everything that had gone wrong with Harry's life up to date, which unluckily for him had been quite a lot.

Collapsing back onto the bed and trying to ignore the feeling of sadness, he turned the letter over and found a whole page of information written in small cramped handwriting. He became more and more astonished with every line he read through, sometimes going back and rereading it because he could not believe what he had just read.

The letter fell through his fingers when he finished the letter. Astonished green eyes looked up at Hedwig who gave a questioning hoot.

"I've got a lot to think about, Hedwig."

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><p>Harry's mind worked furiously as he diced the tomatoes that were about to go into the pot. <em>They offer everything<em>, Harry thought with wonder. _Physical combat and weapons, wandless magic, ritual magic, voice charming, enchanting, blood magic (which I'm fairly sure is illegal in Britain), death magic…oh the list goes on and on. _

_Headmistress Merkovich is right; I could use with some of those skills against Voldemort…especially the combat and weapons. Voldemort wouldn't know what hit him if I suddenly threw a knife at him. Bit undignified... but if it gets the job done, I don't think anyone would really complain. Best bit is that there are no year categories; it's all based on personal prowess! _

Deeming that the school had an extremely desirable curriculum_,_ Harry scooped up all the tomatoes and dropped them into the pot before stirring it around with the soup. Harry continued to think as he chopped through the lettuce that was going in next. _Learning some new things would be brilliant. Increasing my chances of survival would also be brilliant. But Hogwarts, it's my home._ Harry paused in his actions and relaxed as he wistfully remembered the high towers and expansive grounds.

"Oi, don't slack off!" Vernon roared from the dining room.

Harry jumped and quickly resumed chopping, imagining he was slicing up the Dursleys. No, he wasn't that cruel but it was all in the name of good fun anyway.

And what of the blood wards. He could be in danger if he attended Nightshade Academy where he would live there all year round, but Harry knew the notion was ridiculous. Any school that went to the point of erasing someone's memory to keep the school in secrecy and required to be transported twice and pass two security checks had to be a very careful school or just very paranoid, which wouldn't hurt Harry's chances either. Harry still had no idea where the school was either; he just trusted his instincts and exploited the Gryffindor nature.

Dropping the lettuce into the pot as well, he stirred once more before placing the lid on top, leaving it to simmer and started on making tonight's desert. Harry's thoughts wandered again as he gently folded the berries into the cream. _I'll definitely be safe at Nightshade but I will be safer at the Dursleys, not that I care much about them, and Hogwarts as far as I know. Which isn't a lot. _

Harry sighed, wishing Hermione was there. She would have an answer to everything or just nag the brains out of Harry. _Ten days. I have ten days to decide. Ten days until I have to decide between leaving my friends behind and trusting in luck or carving out my own destiny and working towards survival._

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><p>Ten days later, Harry felt quite odd sitting in the Great Hall with everyone else chatting animatedly around him, happily devouring the Welcome Feast. Sirius had died. Why was everyone so happy? Harry couldn't also shake off the feeling that something disastrous had happened. Something horrible. Something terrible. Feeling quite frustrated and angry, he stabbed the sausage viciously with his fork, ignoring the strange looks from Ron and Hermione.<p>

"Mate, the sausage hasn't done anything to you," Ron spoke and bits of food sprayed out of his mouth. Harry gloomily watched the particles fly through the air imagining them to be squealing, "Free! Free!" as they left Ron's mouth. Hermione looked positively disgusted.

"Ron! Close your mouth!" Hermione cried shrilly. Ron opened his mouth even further in Hermione's direction, much to her chagrin. "Urgh."

Glancing at the staff table, he saw Slughorn stare at him intently with an oddly crazed and obsessed look in his eye like Harry was a rare collectible. This just fuelled Harry's first impression of Slughorn as a people collector from the meeting Dumbledore had taken him with.

Slowly turning away and feeling more than a little creeped out, Harry morosely stabbed his sausage again, shifting uncomfortably when his shrunken trunk dug into his thigh. Harry was thoroughly prepared to leave at a moment's notice for Nightshade Academy as everything he possessed he currently had hidden in the folds of his robes. It all came down to tonight.

Then, the Hall went quiet, apart from the slowing beats of feathered wings.

Harry looked up in confusion and saw a black owl set a smoking red letter in front of him while another flock of owls dropped three large damp black packages around it

"Oh Merlin," Hermione breathed.

"A Howler," Ron said with an apprehensive look. "Mate, you better just open it."

Harry looked around quickly and saw that every single eye was on him. Reaching out carefully, he quickly broke the seal and retracted his hands as malicious, nearly hissing laughter echoed ominously around the hall.

Harry stood up and drew his wand in caution and out of the corner of his eye he saw Dumbledore do the same while Snape gripped his goblet tightly. He recognized that voice with the snake like quality. He recognized it all too well, and by the looks of it, Snape, Dumbledore and himself were the only ones to.

"Harry, who is that?" asked Neville looking wide-eyed.

"_Harry_ _Potter. A late birthday present. I do hope you enjoy your relatives' last screams,_" Voldemort stated smoothly in parseltongue and his voice rumbled loudly around the room. The eruption of hisses caused the student body to scramble away in fear and apprehension until only Ron, Hermione and the DA stood around Harry in a protective ring.

"_I'm sure your screams would be much more beautiful._"

The letter then burst into flames and the ashes fell to the floor. Harry stared at them and the packages on the table with a horrified and terrified expression, ignoring the way Hermione and Ron tried to bring him back to his senses. Right before his eyes, the packages slowly unfurled to reveal the dripping and bloody heads of Uncle Vernon, Dudley and Aunt Petunia. Their eyes rolled back into their heads and their mouths were open to their fullest extent and through them emitted an undying scream.

Harry stood up and roared in sudden anger and with just a wave of his hand, set them all alight in a towering pillar of flames, which reduced all three of them to ash, causing the screams to cease. The lights all flared brightly and the foundations of Hogwarts shook as Harry screamed in anger down at the table, which he leant over, palms placed firmly on it and his back hunched. He looked like a ferocious animal.

_No._

_**NO.**_

_Sirius._

_Aunt Petunia._

_More deaths._

_How many more?_

_So many._

_So,_ _**so**__ many._

_He couldn't afford to lose anymore of them._

_Friends and family._

_**I must leave to protect them. **_

_So they don't get killed._

_Don't get murdered._

_Don't get beheaded._

_Leave for Nightshade._

_Prepare._

_Must prepare._

Harry's thoughts were a whirlwind and flying a mile per minute. Small cracks radiated from out under his hand on the table like an ugly flower, as Harry's magic grew oppressive. A voice cut through his frantic planning.

"Harry."

Harry turned around stonily and gazed glassy eyed at Dumbledore and the rest of the staff who stood behind him. They all look nauseated, a look mirrored by his classmates. Some had thrown up on the floor. Some looked wide-eyed at the place where the three heads had lain.

"Harry," Dumbledore repeated gently. "There's only one other person in the world who speaks parseltongue Harry. What did Voldemort say?"

Numbly, Harry repeated what he had heard. Dumbledore seemed to crumple before his eyes.

"I have failed you again, Harry," Dumbledore said softly.

Harry replied with coolness and calm that covered the raging turmoil within. "Why did the blood wards fail?"

"I did not tell you Harry, the day that he took your blood…"

Harry did not wait for him to finish. "I see. In that case…"

He turned towards Ron and Hermione and drew them in a tight hug trying to remember the sensations forever and ignore the sick feeling in his stomach.

"I will be back, I promise. I'll write and everything if I can. Don't ever forget I love you guys," he whispered into their ears, tears starting to course down his face. They looked at him confused and Hermione started to sniffle without knowing why.

"Why Harry, what do you mean?" Hermione asked hysterically, not letting go of Harry's arm. "What's going on?"

"Harry. What's happening? Why are you talking like you'll never see us again?" Ron nearly yelled in his panic. They both felt like they were losing Harry but to what they both didn't know. Harry extracted himself from her grip gently and retreated into the middle of the crowd that had slowly formed around them.

"Harry?" Dumbledore repeated, starting to look quite anxious and worried. Harry ignored him and held up his arm, feeling the familiar weight of Hedwig settle down on him. He then reached down into his pocket and withdrew the black envelope that had been opened and reopened so frequently it looked quite dog-eared. Harry held it in front of his lips and whispered in a voice that seemed to carry around the Hall.

_"Numquam non paratus."_

And he disappeared.

Ron sat down hard on the floor and repeated the whispered words under his breath as did many in the room did.

"Merlin, what've you done Harry," Ron stared at the floor without seeing it. Hermione shook Ron's arm frantically, "What do you mean? What does it mean!"

Draco Malfoy answered, to their surprise. He looked completely awed and shocked simultaneously as he replied.

"Numquam non paratus. It's Latin for 'never unprepared'. It's the motto for Nightshade Academy," Draco said quietly. "Dear Merlin, Potter has gone to the mythical Nightshade Academy."

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><p><em>Beta-ed by HiddenInWhiteLight<em>

Well that's the end of chapter 1. A little shorter than i anticipated. Please review and tell me what you think, anything you think i could improve or anything you'd like to see happen. Thank you very much.


	2. Of Trains and Islands

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Harry Potter which belongs to their respective owners._

_A/N__**: Thank you**__ towards all the reviewers and people who have put this story on their alert etc. I got an unbelievable amount of emails and I was positively ecstatic and now unbelievably nervous. I hope my second chapter lives up to my first. This is my first time posting up a story so thank you for your encouragement. :D_

_**This chapter is dedicated to xfireworkzstarx for bringing a huge smile to my lips, lovely agony for being a great friend and for her encouragement and finally MookFree07 for just being fantastic.**_

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><p>Chapter 2: Trains and Islands<p>

Harry wondered what portkeys had against him when he woke up staring up at the moonless night sky from the ground, cold, tired, hungry and with a headache like a bludger had hit his head twice in the same spot with cruel precision. Groaning in pain, Harry placed a cool hand on his forehead trying to stave off the urge to smash it against the floor until he passed out. Reason told him it would be counterproductive but Harry's skewed logic currently spoke otherwise.

Memories assuaged him and suddenly Harry could not think, could not breathe and did not make a sound when he curled over to his side and clutched at his head, pulling harshly at his hair. After a moment of silence, a gasp sounded in the darkness which was followed by the sound of muffled sobbing. Harry didn't really know what he was crying for. True, he had lost his last relative and had left his friends behind but there was something else that caused his heart to thud painfully in his chest, like he was crying for the sake of something else rather than himself. But try as he might, he could not discern his feelings. Taking deep breaths through his nose and trying to steady himself, Harry slowly uncurled and lay there, panting while mentally putting everything on hold until his affairs were properly sorted.

Standing up shakily, Harry drew out his wand and surveyed his surroundings which were bleak and miserable, which reflected his attitude at present quite well. Harry was standing in the middle of an ancient grey ruin which was no doubt magical, for he could feel the ancient magic that once inhabited here creep slowly up his body and cause him to shudder. The long shadows, cast by the tall crumbling walls and darkness, were not helping Harry's paranoia and helped even less when a twig snapped behind him.

"_Lumos_," Harry whispered and spun around with his wand held aloft. Waving his wand experimentally, he was disappointed to find that it didn't seem to penetrate the darkness at all. His eyes strained to see through the darkness, trying to discern any movement from the inky blackness that surrounded him. A flutter of wings from behind him caused his senses to go haywire and he whirled around, the spell already halfway out of his lips.

"_Stupe_ – "

Hedwig landed on Harry's outstretched wand arm and glared at him reproachfully before gripping his arm tighter than necessary. Harry winced as the sharp talons dug into his arm.

"Sorry Hedwig," Harry muttered, stroking her soothingly. Slightly happier that he wasn't alone in this forsaken place, Harry started to pace backwards and forwards in worry. He had been transported as promised, but this was not the type of reception Harry had expected when they had said 'security checks'. He wildly considered that this was some elaborate plan by Voldemort but the lack of _Crucios_ and _Avada Kedavras_ being thrown about like confetti seemed to disprove his idea. _I bet this is some sort of test. Some sort of endurance test to weed out the useless students. Well bollocks to them. I'm not moving. They are not getting rid of me, _Harry thought with determination, digging his toe into the gravel floor angrily as he said so. _I've just given up my life at Hogwarts to protect everyone. I'm not going to half-ass this process._

"That is precisely the type of thinking that we desire at Nightshade Academy," a velvety voice floated over in the darkness. "Congratulations, my little kitten."

_Kitten?_ Thought Harry in confusion before the air throbbed with an all too familiar dark and seductive power that Harry had not realised had disappeared since he received the Nightshade Academy invitation. Hedwig gave a startled hoot and flew up to survey the scene from a better vantage point. Gasping lightly as the power seemed to wrap him in a warm cocoon; Harry buckled over at the strange feeling but managed to bite out loudly and angrily, "You! It's you who's been watching me! All those days at the Dursleys…!"

Harry wrapped his arms around him and bit his lip as he felt the stirrings of reluctant arousal start again as it always did whenever that strange sensation of power throbbed. An overwhelming urge to get up and throw himself at the stranger so they could do unspeakable and pleasurable things swamped Harry. An amused chuckle reverberated loudly around Harry before a tall and imposing figure stepped out of the shadows. Harry strained to raise his wand against the stranger and straightened up when the magic repeatedly throbbed and whispered in his ear to submit. Sick of the uninvited sensation and feeling his mind slowly giving in, Harry gave a yell of frustration and shot a random hex at the still half-obscured figure who unfortunately, deflected it easily. But thankfully, it seemed to do some good as the strange and foreign feeling immediately disappeared and Harry fell on his rump in surprise.

The figure walked towards him, leather boots crunching loudly on the gravel before he crouched down and gazed at Harry who gasped in shock as his _Lumos_ finally illuminated the stranger's face. Harry stared unabashedly at the beautifully formed lips, aristocratic features and the shaggy silver hair that fell artistically over his face and lightly on his shoulders, revealing bright amethyst eyes. The gleaming eyes stared into his own with an alarming intensity and Harry slowly felt himself being drawn into them and started to sink into its bottomless depths.

_What…what's happening…_Harry thought frantically, as he felt his mind slow and become suppressed like the Imperius curse. He renewed his struggle against the intrusion, starting to feel panicked and worried. A wave of foreign calm suddenly washed over him and he went slack. His breathing slowed as Harry calmed and slowly found himself uncaring when he was slowly embraced by the man and the stranger's lips slowly drew closer until he could smell the scent of spice and feel hot breath ghosting over his face. Harry felt his head clear at the sensation and jerked back alarmed when the lips were a hair's breadth away and gasped angrily, "What the hell are you playing at?".

He winced when his voice came out half strangled instead of the indignant tone he was aiming for. The stranger didn't reply but made a disappointed noise before he slowly released Harry from his hold. Harry pursed his lips but merely glared half-heartedly as the man stood up before him and studied him with a calculative look in his eye. Finally he spoke and Harry once again resisted the urge to lay prostrate on the ground and let the man have his way with him at the sound of his voice.

"You're an interesting one, kitten. Sensitive to magic _and _slightly resistant… Are you sure you're completely human? I've never had someone react like that before…" he said and smiled languidly while folding his arms. Harry slowly got to his feet, wand held to his side but gripped tightly in his fist. He grimaced at the height difference between them as he stared up at the stranger with a withering glare.

"Yes, I'm sure. Glad to be of service," he replied dryly before placing his wand right over the man's heart. "Now tell me who you are and why you were watching me….and kitten?" The last word was said in confusion and disgust.

The silver haired man put up his hands in a show of surrender and his nails glinted in the dim light, causing Harry to notice the sharpened black nails that looked strong enough to tear through a brick wall. _Definitely not human, _Harry thought in apprehension. Gulping nervously but determined, Harry gripped his wand even tighter as the man gave his explanation.

"I am Professor Alexander Theodus of Nightshade Academy." Harry relaxed minutely. "You were listed as a potential student for our school and the Headmistress assigned me to take your case. If you will recall, one of the requirements to gain attendance to the Academy was to pass a visual test conducted by a teacher. And because you're so cute." He added the last bit as if in afterthought.

Harry immediately tensed up again and bristled, his eyes narrowed into slits and the green flashed dangerously, unintentionally looking so much like his new namesake. "Please don't call me that and I doubt the Headmistress intended for you to watch me so….intently," he said as he remembered the numerous occasions he had gotten hard over the summer because of the strange presence and power it was radiating. Professor Theodus still looked amused to Harry's chagrin and he resisted the urge to hex the look off the irritating albeit handsome face.

"No, she didn't. I took the liberty because you are just so fascinating." He finished with a seductive smile before cupping his hand on Harry's ass and swooping in for a kiss. Harry dodged and swatted the hand away irritably before taking a few steps back feeling less disturbed than he probably should have at the situation.

"Do you molest all of your potential students?" Harry said in aggravation, just itching for a reason to let loose a curse.

Professor Theodus shrugged carelessly. "No, but you're cute and my hands like to wander."

Taken aback by the blunt answer, Harry lowered his wand slowly and hesitantly and tucked it back into his robes. Professor Theodus smiled indulgently and raised an arm as if in invitation to which Harry raised an eyebrow incredulously. Hedwig alighted from her overhead perch and landed on the outstretched arm, carefully ignoring Harry's muttering of 'traitor'.

"Come," Professor Theodus said and he started to walk into the darkness, his long black coat flapping around him. "We mustn't miss our transport for Nightshade."

Harry stumbled after him and reluctantly grabbed onto the professor's coat sleeve like a child. Feeling a blush climbing up again as amused amethyst eyes looked inquiringly at him, Harry quickly groused out, "Shut up, it's dark and _Lumos_ isn't working."

Professor Theodus smirked and wrapped an arm around Harry's waist before pulling him close to himself. Harry glared down at the offending limb and silently thought that if he didn't need a guide, he would've hexed it off to hell and back after slicing it off from the torso with a well aimed _Diffindo_. After a minute of uncomfortable silence spent walking through complete darkness, Harry blurted out, "What about the security checks?"

"You've passed them" was the short reply. Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? I didn't do anything. What were they?"

The non-committal "hmm" gave absolutely no indication of an answer. Eyes narrowed again, he asked in a flat voice, "There wasn't any, was there."

"We all keep secrets. Let the Academy keep this one," Professor Theodus' voice floated from next to him before he suddenly halted. "Ah, here we are. Now, kitten, try not to be too alarmed."

Harry rolled his eyes in irritation and gave a snort in reply. After his life so far with Voldemort on his head; he didn't think he was going to be surprised by anything anymore. The professor lifted his right arm and clicked his fingers once above his head and the sound seemed to replicate itself a thousand times as it drifted outwards into the darkness. Harry wasn't prepared for what happened next. A train blasted into view in a similar manner to the Knight Bus right before him, causing Harry to jump and attempt to ward off what he thought would be a very messy and painful death. It lurched to a sudden stop right before his face and he could see a silhouette of a train through the steam that billowed around Harry. He felt a pang of nostalgia for the Hogwarts Express and the happy times spent with his friends. The steam parted with a wave of Professor Theodus' arm and Harry's jaw dropped at the sight before him. Silently chugging and puffing before him was a silvery and slightly transparent steam train that seemed to possess a pearl like sheen. He gazed at it in unconcealed wonder and slight apprehension, eyes carefully taking in the detail of every piece of transparent wrought iron. It was fully functioning steam train in a similar model to the Hogwarts Express however there was one particular difference.

"A _ghost train_?" Harry gasped in wonder, resisting the urge to reach out and place a hand upon it to test whether his hand would pass through. He whirled around and stared up at what little he could see of the professor's face. Professor Theodus gave another mysterious smile and clicked his fingers again. A door flung open, spilling a copious amount of warm, welcoming light against the cold and gloomy night, revealing a very solid looking interior. A set of dainty silver steps spilled from the bottom of the door towards the floor. Wordlessly, Professor Theodus ushered Harry towards them and gave a reassuring look as Harry looked up at him slightly nervously. Harry slowly walked up the steps, feeling as though he was going to fall through them at any time. As soon as he placed one foot onto the carpeted floor of the carriage, suddenly an intense and agonising pain shot up his leg and through his body as if a lightning bolt had struck him, causing Harry to give a scream of pain before collapsing forwards. The last thing he registered before pitching forward towards the floor, were warm arms around him and a flash of laughing purple eyes.

_Bastard_….

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><p>Harry woke up for the second time that night in an unfamiliar place. However, it seemed that this time was a lot more comfortable as he rubbed his cheek against the warm fabric underneath him in content, fully ready to fall back asleep. A deep chuckle caused his pillow to rumble and Harry's eyes snapped open in confusion, slowly sitting upright and leaning away from his pillow, his view obscured by long strands of silver hair. Even more confused than before, he leaned backwards even further until he finally realised he was straddling the man who had his hands on Harry's hips and looked far too pleased with the compromising position. Now fully awake and feeling like kicking something, Harry leapt off the lap of his new professor in embarrassment and irritation. Deciding not even to mention the incident at all, he collapsed into the velvet seat behind him so he could nail the perverted idiot with a glare until he felt the throb of heat and pain underneath the corner of his left eye. Hand jumping towards the area, his mouth opened to let out a torrent of angry questions but was interrupted by the calm tones of Professor Theodus.<p>

"I am sorry about the pain that you went through. Those were the wards accepting you." He clasped his hands on his knee and smiled. Harry thought he didn't sound particularly sorry at all. "And that is a symbol that you are now officially a student of Nightshade Academy."

Harry rubbed at his skin to try and alleviate the burning heat with one hand while the other stroked Hedwig when she alighted on his knee. "Symbol?"

Professor Theodus leaned forward and pressed one cool finger against his heated skin. "Yes, there is an image of a small dagger imprinted into your skin like a tattoo now. Now this sign is very important, Harry and I want you to listen to what it entails."

Harry straightened up at the use of his actual name and gave the professor his utmost attention. It was almost as if Harry had flicked a switch in his mind. Subconsciously, he leant against the coolness on his cheek as he stared intently into purple eyes, not noticing the way the hand caressed him.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, using the formality for the first time that night. The long pale digit trailed over Harry's flushed skin as the professor started the lecture he gave to every new student to Nightshade. The last time he did this; it was over a century ago and had ended with him almost throwing the boy out of the train in irritation. He twitched in remembrance of the incidence. He hadn't actually thrown the boy out, but had tied him to the front of the train instead and left him there for the entire journeyand _accidently_ forgot about him. Oh well.

"The dagger is equal in length on all sides so it looks more like cross than a dagger. That symbolises the balance that you must gain in your life in all aspects, such as the balance that is so crucial to fight competently and the balance between peace and war."

He traced out the shape on Harry's face lightly as Harry gazed back at him, noticing for the first time the small black mark underneath the professor's eye, slightly hidden by silver hair.

"Deadly nightshade wraps around it, representing the origins of your learning and future teachings. This shape represents you as a student of the Nightshade Academy of Magic and therefore_ you_ represent _everything_ that our school represents. _Numquam non paratus._ Never unprepared, Harry."

Harry hadn't even been a student of Nightshade for ten minutes yet, but he could already feel an overwhelming feeling loyalty and pride already. He couldn't prevent the uncharacteristic grin from spreading across his face when he saw how it was mirrored on his professor. Happily, he also noticed that the pain had dissipated under his professor's touch as he curiously rubbed at the mark.

"Alright, I gave the compulsory pep talk. Now I have to give the compulsory talk where I bombard you with information which I expect you to remember to the last detail because this is crucial and will save you from being killed by overzealous competitors."

Harry nodded solemnly in reply and fought the urge to whip out a quill and some parchment to take notes. Currently, Professor Theodus seemed to be channelling the spirit of Professor McGonagall, which frankly scared him more than a little.

"This mark, is not just a big sign telling everyone that you are a student. Only people who are familiar with Nightshade Academy are able to see it so you will know who you'll be able to trust…and which ones not go near. It is symbol of your status within the school."

Harry looked at him puzzled. "Status? I didn't know there was status system involved at the academy."

"Oh yes, you cannot see it now, but your mark is very faint, close to invisible even. That shows that you are almost definitely new student. Nightshade doesn't characterise its students by grade because it would be a hopeless system because of the number of different subjects we have. Students are allowed to take several classes, graduate them and then take another set of classes."

Harry perked up at this, seeing the list of subjects available on the back of the letter he had wanted to master as many as he could. Professor Theodus continued with a small smile on his face as he observed Harry. "However, Nightshade Academy is not like Hogwarts. Power is synonymous to survival at Nightshade Academy and one must climb over others to reach the top. That, is the purpose of your new mark. You will be challenged to a combat or duel, frequently and most likely, you will lose more than half the time in the beginning. At the end of the duel, the victor must smear a drop of blood of the other onto their mark, which will absorb it. Overtime, your mark will darken with the number of times you emerge the victor. Eventually, the mark will morph into something else completely, although that happens extremely rarely."

"But…that's not fair. What if a really powerful student just repeatedly defeats new students?"

"Ah, the potency of the blood is categorised by the mark in terms of finesse and power so a weak student will not contribute as much as a more experienced student. You would probably have to defeat 100 inexperienced students to reach the same level of a singular more powerful student. Now to avoid being killed right off, please don't do anything...rash."

Harry nodded his head in understanding but was feeling dubious about not acting "rashly" since trouble seemed to follow him like a love sick puppy no matter where he went. "Why is Nightshade so different from Hogwarts, Professor?"

"Nightshade is an academy of _magic_, Harry. Therein lies all the difference. Hogwarts is a renowned school of _witchcraft and wizardry_. They are restricted to only those magics that are readily available for wizards and witches only. Whereas since Nightshade Academy is for the purpose of magic, we are able to explore _all_ magic, everything and anything that we have been able to study," Professor Theodus said in a proud tone and gestured enthusiastically. Harry watched him in bemusement at the out of character behaviour.

Fidgeting slightly, Harry finally asked the question that had been on his mind for the past ten days. "How will I know I will be safe, Professor?"

"You are a very paranoid child, kitten…" He said, cocking his head and studying Harry like a fascinating specimen. _Back to kitten are we?_ Harry thought glumly.

"It's not paranoid if someone is really out to get you," he replied with a small smile that did not reach his eyes.

Professor Theodus gave a little sigh. "Yes, we understand your situation with the human who calls himself Lord Voldemort and that is easily remedied. First of all, the man is an idiot."

Harry choked on his own breath at the blunt statement and could not help but fall into light hysterics which were fuelled by the expression on the man's face. It was slightly refreshing to have a conversation with someone who didn't flinch at the word 'Voldemort'. Harry's lack of sleep and today's events was mixing to create a dangerous cocktail. Professor Theodus obviously agreed as he looked slightly alarmed at the sight as Harry lost his composure for the first time that night.

"Perhaps we should continue our talk at another time. Perhaps after you have slept and fed - "

"No," Harry interjected, heaving a little sigh and feeling slightly out of breath. "I want to get this done tonight."

Professor Theodus looked apprehensive as purple eyes narrowed but continued. "As I said, he's an idiot. Most likely, he hasn't even heard of Nightshade Academy. We exist in pureblood wizard myths and then still, barely anything is known about us. We are a well kept secret, and our wards keep us very safe."

Harry picked at the sleeve of his robe thoughtfully. "What's to say that Voldemort won't just break through those wards?"

Professor Theodus smirked and interlocked his fingers in front of his face as he leaned forwards. "We have a ghost train as a way of transportation for a reason. Also tell me, are you familiar with the Bermuda Triangle?"

Harry's eyes widened. "The _Bermuda Triangle! _Is that where the school is located?"

Professor Theodus gave a small satisfied smirk in Harry's reaction, who ignored it so he could resist the urge to punch the handsome face and looked outside the window where he could see nothing but rushing darkness. Harry closed his eyes while he collected his thoughts. _Well, that certainly explains all those failed engines and other incidences with the muggles_, Harry thought in realisation. _With all that magical interference, no wonder technology failed._

"What have you been doing with the muggles that fly over that area or sail through it?"

"Usually, we feed them to the vampires."

Harry's eye twitched and he felt greatly uneasy. "_What. They feed them to the vampires._"

"They are kept alive of course. Usually after one feeding they become blood donors because often the sensation is….orgasmic. They are given proper housing and live luxuriously."

Harry flushed at the use of the word as his teenage mind fluttered with vivid imagery but ploughed on nevertheless. "But…that's wrong!"

Professor Theodus looked outwardly amused but Harry could tell that irritation was starting to bleed into his features as they started to look plastic and frozen. "When I said that Nightshade Academy was an interspecies school I had presumed you understood what that entailed which means adhering to our beliefs and throwing away whatever foolish ideals you hold. Am I wrong?"

Harry suddenly felt rather foolish and looked down at his feet awkwardly. "So what species are you, sir?" he said, evading answering the question.

"An incubus," Professor Theodus replied matter of factly and some more warmth was injected into his voice. _That explains a lot_, thought Harry.

"And I suggest you get over any prejudice you have against other magical beings because you will be exterminated for maintaining that sort of thinking process. Even more so for you, since humans are the minority of student numbers…."

"I have nothing against others. My honorary godfather is a werewolf," interjected Harry indignantly as Hedwig gave a loud hoot.

Professor Theodus ignored him as he stared absentmindedly at Harry's shoes. "I think you're the _only_ other human apart from Professor Dirk…"

Harry's eyebrows shot up and were lost in his hair at this extra piece of information. "The only other human?" he muttered dryly.

Professor Theodus artfully dodged the question by leaping to his feet as the first golden rays of sun crept inside of the moving carriage as the sunrise coloured the sky red. "You don't want to miss this, Harry," he whispered as he peered out of the window. "I've seen this so many times…but I feel like I live it over every time I see it again."

Harry curiously got to his feet and stood by his Professor to look outside the window, who gently placed a warm arm on his shoulders. Harry felt unbelievably warm and comfortable as he shared the moment of sun rising over the blue ocean with another despite who it was.

It was beautiful.

However, what he saw next was magnificent beyond comparison.

Right before his eyes, out of the sparkling blue water, emerged strange islands of every variety in a burst of water. An island consisting of dark rock lay as the foundations of high steeped towers glistened in the sunlight. A flat grassy plain supported stout cream buildings with low rounded ceilings. So many wonderful mini-worlds rose out of the sea like a miracle, each connected to the largest island by delicate arched bridges, where upon a glorious castle presented itself with a dangerous but welcoming aura. A feat that would normally be impossible was easily pulled off by the enigmatic castle. Water cascaded down the sides as they all emerged, creating beautiful waterfalls from the tall spires and carved intricate lines into the castle walls. Harry could not help but gape silently as the sight passed before him as the train winded delicately between closely grouped towers and over low buildings on the stone archway railway.

"Look down," Professor Theodus said softly and breathlessly in his ear.

Harry numbly looked down and gazed into the clear water and was startled to see what seemed like glass dormitories underneath the islands, spanning outwards like curious delicate stars where he could discern small dark figures moving about.

The large hand squeezed his shoulder and Harry looked into Professor Theodus' amethyst eyes that shone with anticipation and pride while he smiled softly at Harry's bewildered face and whispered the words that Harry would remember for a very long time to come.

"_Nightshade Academy isn't just a school, Harry. It's a city and a whole other world. It's a lifestyle._"

* * *

><p>Harry felt the sensation of being carried by strong arms and felt safer and more secure than he had in his entire life. His eyes fluttered open slowly with effort as they felt like they had been weighted down and sleep clouded his mind like a heavy fog. Blearily, Harry looked around as he lifted his head from the warm sturdy chest and merely caught the images of tall cream, intricately carved pillars before he was lulled back to sleep by the rocking motion and soft whispers.<p>

_Shh….sleep Harry…_

_Goodnight…kitten…._

* * *

><p>Soft black silk caressed tantalisingly Harry's pale skin as he snuggled into them, trying not to escape the warm cocoon that he had created. He smiled at the sensation and rubbed his face on the silk again, trying to ignore the prickling sensation at the back of his mind. He frowned in discontent but refused to open his eyes so he wouldn't escape from his fantasy that absolutely nothing was wrong. Cautiously he opened his eyes and regretted it immediately.<p>

_"HOLY MOTHER OF MERLIN!"_

* * *

><p><em>AN: And so ends another chapter of Nightshade Academy. I apologise for the long wait, but I've been swamped by school and I also apologise for the lack of action in this chapter. Please review! It keeps me writing!_

_Also __**please tell me what weapon would you like for Harry to have?**_

_The Sword of Gryffindor_

_The Sword of Slytherin (I have a viable explanation)_

_Both of them?_

_Generic longsword/shortsword/katana_

_Other suggestions welcome_

_Something really unusual….like a gunblade?_

_Thank you everyone once again! Review, Harry compels you._


	3. Erothor, the Market Island

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter._

_A/N: __**SORRY FOR THE WAIT. I HAD EXAMS.**_

_Thank you again for the amazing response from my readers. It's always a surprise to get reviews and alerts. Thank you all anonymous reviewers and other users who have disabled PMs, I couldn't reply to them obviously but I loved them all the same._

_**This chapter is dedicated towards RebeccaSeverusSnape for being brilliant all around and to xfireworkzstarx again for picking up the most embarrassing mistake of a lifetime last chapter and my friend, Maggie who nagged me until I showed this to her.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Erothor, The market island<strong>

"_HOLY MOTHER OF MERLIN. WHAT THE-!"_

Nothing worked better than a wake-up call in the form of a crazed red-eyed maniac staring down at you from outside a glass ceiling in the ocean.

No, it wasn't Voldemort sadly for once, but in the current moment Harry probably would've preferred seeing the ugly nose-less visage compared to the red eyes, wide maniacal grin and sharp teeth that greeted Harry as he opened his eyes. He would've known how to react, while having a vampire in the middle of the ocean, latched onto your glass ceiling like a leech and watching you like you were the last scrap of food in the world…..was just weird, even by Harry's standards. Long black hair swirled in the ocean's currents around the pale and waxy face while small gleaming fish flittered around through the long trends, creating a bizarre diorama of the night sky. Crimson eyes stared unwaveringly at Harry as the man ran his tongue across the bottom of his teeth, slowly scraping it over the lengthening canines. Feeling self conscious and unsure of how to react as he realised he was naked himself, Harry froze and stared at the red eyes that held a crazed glint to them while trying desperately to find his wand. Harry was dismayed when he could not find the familiar piece of wood among the sheets or the bedside table. The vampire followed his movements hungrily and Harry could not help the instinct to freeze, feeling like a frog pinned under a snake's predatory gaze. That was how Professor Theodus found him a moment later, staring glassy eyed at the disturbing but mesmerising sight on the ceiling.

Professor Theodus entered the room silently with his arms folded across his chest and he caressed the long thin dagger that was concealed up his sleeve. He stopped a feet away from the bed where Harry was half hidden in the folds of black silk before his gaze shifted upwards. Professor Theodus' face took on a frozen look of apathy but the eyes concealed the dangerous irritation that was starting to rise at the sight of the insolent vampire. The intense eyes narrowed minutely as he spoke the command softly but firmly.

"_Leave."_

The red eyes flickered between Harry's and the professor's, calculating and unblinking, unsure of his next move as he looked reluctant to leave Harry's company. Professor Theodus took a step forward and then the vampire was gone, drifting upwards towards the surface of the ocean. Harry's gaze finally swivelled to Professor Theodus and the corners of his lips quirked downwards into a confused frown.

"I've never woken up to something like that before. Please tell me that this isn't going to become a daily occurrence."

Professor Theodus' eyes did not leave the black silhouette that grew steadily smaller. "No. I cannot say I have either."

* * *

><p>The entire incident in the morning was ignored or to put it more accurately, Harry fired off so many questions at once that Professor Theodus silenced him with an impatient wave of his hand. Harry then stood naked before the man who ripped away the silk sheets that he had been hugging to his chest tightly. He glared mutinously and blushed furiously as the man inspected his body in its entirety. If it had been a completely clinical check, Harry would have been less inclined to be stubborn and would have acquiesced to Professor Theodus' requests without protest. However, the frequent fleeting touches to his chest and the lingering brushes on his thighs spoke of anything but clinical, Harry pursed his lips and grunted.<p>

"Please remind me again, _why_ we have to do this?" he ground out unhappily.

Professor Theodus moved around him methodically so Harry could not see him or more importantly his smirking face. "I already told you," he said suavely. "A physical check for all students is necessary. It just so happens that I am the only available medic here available today."

Harry lifted his arm stiffly. "I'm sure. By 'only available medic here' you mean in this room. Where's my wand?"

A black fingernail trailed over his side and Harry squirmed. "Well you seem in perfect order apart from a minor case of malnutrition. Hmm but just to be sure…."

A trail of wet heat slid slowly over the middle of his back.

Harry jumped and twisted away from the man's hold. "What the hell! Did you just- just _lick me_?"

Professor Theodus remained kneeling on the floor and licked his lips with a small smile. "Completely professional of course. It is how the incubus and succubus tell if their partners are healthy or not. You do taste good though."

Harry muttered darkly under his breath "I am _not_ your partner and i do _not_ taste good" and avoided the professor's wandering gaze when he reached over to pick up his filthy school robes that had been thrown into the corner. He jumped when they burst into flames right before him and whirled towards Professor Theodus heatedly. Harry stalked forwards, ignoring his nudity in favour of yelling and grasping the front of his coat in his fists.

"What are you doing? Those were my clothes!"

Professor Theodus grimaced. "Yes. They were horrible. Come, we're going to get some new ones for you that actually fit." He started to walk away.

"Hey wait! You haven't answered my question. Where's my wand? And Hedwig and everything else that I own for that matter?" Harry demanded. "They were in my clothes!"

Professor continued to walk towards the door and waved a hand flippantly behind him. "Somewhere, I suppose. Hurry up."

"I'm still naked!" yelled Harry furiously and watched the ends of the man's coat disappear.

* * *

><p>Harry grumbled as his professor dragged him down the empty corridor by his hand, now clothed in what Harry thought clearly was a <em>dress. <em>A very nice dress with beautiful embroidery and it felt brilliant against Harry's skin…but it was a dress nevertheless. As if reading his thoughts, Professor Theodus looked down at him in exasperation. "For the last time, it is not a _dress_. It is a _tunic._ There's nothing wrong with it. I assure you it was the height of fashion 3000 years ago."

"If there's nothing wrong with it, then you wear it," the words slipped out before Harry could stop them.

Professor Theodus rolled his eyes. "It's only temporary. We'll get you some proper clothes soon."

Harry had no reply to that and let himself by dragged along blindly so he could finally savour the view without being ogled at by vampires or sexually harassed. They had returned above ground as the beautiful view to be seen out the archways and Harry's sore legs were clear evidence. Blue water sparkled beautifully and peeked out from what seemed an endless amount of archways made of a curious cream stone. He spotted a stone bridge extend out to another island in the distance. Harry grimaced when he felt a breeze wafted past unpleasantly and he squirmed in agitation.

"You could have at least conjured some trousers for me."

"Yes I could have. I decided not to. Why would I with such a sight to be seen?" and Professor Theodus emphasized his words by running one hand up Harry's thigh. He jumped at the contact and danced on the spot, trying to get away from Professor Theodus' strong grip. _Lecherous git,_ Harry thought mildly, once again feeling less disturbed than he would have normally. Half-heartedly he suspected the man's incubus powers were coming into play.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he finally stopped fidgeting, wanting to take his mind off the breeze blowing around his privates. "How come there's no one here?"

"We are heading for the eastern island of Erothor, the market island in other words, so we can get you properly equipped so you can join the rest of the students who are currently in class. If I tossed you in now…" Professor Theodus trailed off and Harry had a nasty feeling that he was probably enjoying the thoughts of throwing Harry to the wolves. Feeling extremely twitchy without his wand, Harry looked down and tugged the bottom of the 'tunic' repeatedly. Professor Theodus stopped abruptly and Harry collided into his back.

"Alright kitten, since you lack the means to transport yourself magically, we should be walking the entire way there on the bridges."

"Should?" Harry said, picking up on the word.

"I find myself mentally unable to continue walking down this seemingly infinite corridor without going mad. Therefore-" Professor Theodus suddenly broke off and latched his arm onto Harry's waist before swinging the both of them around into the shadow of the column.

"Wha-" Harry yelped in confusion, struggling against the tight the professor had. Twisting around while his legs flailed wildly, Harry managed a final yell of protest before he was suddenly pulled backwards and drowned in shades of gray.

It was peculiar, to say the least.

It was void-like in the way that there was nothing tangible apart from the arm clasped around him but also everything at once. Darkness and grey images that reflected reality, rushed by Harry and he felt like he was drowning in a black and white photograph. Suddenly, he was expelled back violently into the world of colour and his senses overwhelmed him. Harry keeled over and groaned when the smells of spices, loud haggling and heady air assaulted his senses.

"Careful now. Take deep breaths through the nose and out through the mouth, Harry." He followed these instructions and fought the bile that was rising up his throat as he stared the cobble stone floor. Warm hands ran through his hair repeatedly and Harry relaxed marginally.

"What the hell was that?" Harry choked out and he swiped his hand across his mouth as if he had vomited. A soothing hand ran down his cheek and he leaned into it carefully. He barely noticed when Professor Theodus slipped a small chain over his head and how the cold charm stung the skin of his chest.

"I apologise Harry. I probably should have warned you. I did not think you would be so adverse to the effects of shadow stalking."

Harry rested his head in between his knees and his voice was a muffled sulk. "Shadow stalking?"

Professor Theodus smiled and drew Harry upright on his wobbly legs. "Yes, traditionally called _Umbralus_ but for simplicity's sake most call it shadow stalking. It is the art of travelling through the shadow plane and most often used by darker creatures. You seem to have an aptitude for it however adverse your reaction is now. It is much more reliable than apparition or whatever wizards have managed to invent but quite difficult to master."

He glanced at Harry's weak form.

"And also difficult to get used to."

Harry glared and tugged down on the tunic again. "What now?" he asked, looking around for the first time without feeling extremely nauseated and was instantly in awe of the huge market that was milling and surging around him.

"Since you've yet to learn how to block your mind from unwanted presences, I have given you a charm that will protect your mind from most weak intrusions," Professor Theodus, gesturing towards the gleaming silver charm that now rested on Harry's chest. "However, just as a precaution, don't look into anyone's eyes for too long."

Harry gazed dumbly at the scene around him and Professor Theodus laughed at his awestruck state. "Come now, we have lots to get through. Welcome to Erothor, the market island."

All around Harry, little stores were bursting with strange artefacts or little stands with colourful canvas roofs linked together like one long multi-coloured snake winding down the street. Little multicoloured lanterns were strung high overhead but not yet lit.

And then there were the _people_.

Harry tried not to stare almost in incomprehension as he watched creatures of every species passed him by without a second thought and haggle with others like it was an everyday experience. A goblin. A vampire. A veela. And a whole assortment of others with strange attachments that Harry had yet to learn about. He let himself be tugged along as he trotted along obediently and was slightly startled when he suddenly entered the gloomy interior of a shop and walked straight into one of the numerous dream catchers suspended in the air.

"Professor-?" he tried to ask as he spat out a feather.

"Ah! Alexander! I knew you'd be back some day! You're slightly late though. Naughty," said a voice that was followed by the image of a curvaceous dark-skinned woman, bedecked in layers and layers of sheer fabric. Harry blushed and averted his eyes to the ceiling while Professor Theodus walked forward and gave a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"It has been quite a while, Madame Merin. You haven't aged a second," he said in greeting.

The woman flushed happily and slapped at the man's arm playfully. "Oh stop it and I keep telling you it's just Merin," she giggled until she caught sight of Harry who was desperately trying to blend in with the walls. "Oh Circe, now who is this cute lad?"

"I'm-" Harry started to say as he stared resolutely at the ceiling.

"Hariel. His name is Hariel Viridus," Professor Theodus interrupted, looking at Harry pointedly and received a nearly imperceptible nod. Harry hid the confusion of his sudden name change under a mask of indifference and tried not to yelp when Merin walked over in a swish of fabric and enveloped him in a crushing hug. Harry squeaked and the beads of her necklace pressed uncomfortably into his cheek. He sniffed experimentally and discovered the woman smelled pleasantly of sage and thyme.

"You're so cute!" she exclaimed and withdrew from a dazed looking Harry.

Professor Theodus coughed delicately and tried not to smirk at the owlish expression upon Harry's face. "We are in quite a hurry…"

Merin suddenly looked quite flustered and she picked up her skirts as she fluttered around the room among the dream catchers. "Yes, yes I know. I just want more visitors. And _you _never visit." She suddenly whirled around and pointed a finger accusingly at Professor Theodus before pressing a long piece of parchment into his outstretched palm.

"I'm sorry, I just never seem to have the time to," he countered smoothly. "Come on, Hariel. We have to get all your supplies now."

Harry jumped at the sound of his new name and was startled into action as Merin waved them out of her shop, long black hair swishing and the bangles on her arm jingling loudly. "Do come back soon, Alexander dear. I get so terribly _bored_. Oh and don't worry, Harry. It'll work out."

Harry whirled around to ask what about but to his surprise the mystical shop had disappeared completely and another two shops had squeezed into its place. Harry lifted an eyebrow at his Professor who did not seem fazed by this event in the least. "What in the name of Merlin just happened? What the- _Hariel Viridus!_"

Professor Theodus returned the same expression. "Yes?"

"Awfully girly, don't you think?" he questioned as they walked down the street while Professor Theodus consulted the parchment in his hand. "Are disappearing shops normal here then?"

"It's just another layer of precaution, we will get to changing your appearance later. 'Hariel Viridus' is blatantly obvious alias for those who know you but never underestimate the stupidity of some people and no, Merin just likes to be strange. How I'm supposed to visit her if I can't find her, I don't know."

"She called me Harry in the end anyway though," Harry countered. "And told me everything would work out, what was that all about?"

"It's impossible to hide anything from her, I swear," Professor Theodus muttered before continuing in a louder voice. "Merin is a very powerful seer. She appraises every new student and informs us of their strengths and necessary supplies based upon their traits and futures. You should be happy that your future will work itself out."

"That's the part I'm worried about. The fact that it needs to be worked out," muttered Harry and narrowly avoided being knocked over by a flying basket which zoomed into the arm of a centaur.

Professor Theodus ignored him. "Harry is a shortened form of Hariel in any case, so you'll be able to keep that name for now. We'll be using it all day so you can get used to it."

"How am I paying for everything?"

"The school pays for you for the first time. After that, you may either work for the school or pay via Gringotts."

"There's a Gringotts here?" Harry was amazed.

Professor Theodus gave him an odd look that made him feel extremely inadequate. "Of course there is."

"Can I _please_ have my wand back now?" Harry pleaded, feeling distinctly uneasy as the crowd around them got thicker and the amount of mixing aromas in the air was almost dizzying. Scales brushed over his ankles unnervingly while feathered wings pressed up against him and he grasped the man's sleeve tightly as he tried not to break into a nervous skip.

"No, we're almost there," Professor Theodus muttered and gave a triumphant shout as they both fell through a doorway and shut the heavy door behind them, blocking out the oppressive atmosphere. Harry took a deep breath of the clean air and gave a sigh of relief before he noticed a quizzical child with twitching furry ears studying him.

"Hello?" he said cautiously and the child ran behind the counter of the shop with a loud squeal. Harry frowned. "I don't remember being so ugly that children would run away. Usually that's reserved for Voldemort."

"Don't mind Pippy, he's just a little shy," said a smooth cultured voice as a man with long braided blonde hair and blue eyes appeared behind the counter. Harry was stunned into silence by the beauty that almost screamed purity before blatantly staring at the pointed ears. "What can I do for you? I have a number of wares that may interest you…" He gestured to the shelves lining the shop walls where many bright stones glittered and curious artefacts lay innocently but kept his eyes concentrated on Harry.

Professor Theodus finally spoke up from beside him and his eyes were narrowed as he watched their interaction in displeasure. "I wish to gauge Hariel's powers and find an appropriate focus for him."

"Ah of course, a new student. Come this way please," the man answered quietly and took Harry gently by his hand. Professor Theodus followed the both of them, his eyes glued on their joined hands. Harry walked into what obviously was a workshop for many scientific looking apparatus laid haphazardly over the wooden tables which bore curious scorch marks. He was then led right before a large bookshelf.

"Please attempt to summon a book for me please," he said placidly and walked off to the side to watch.

"Um, wandlessly?"

"Yes, and wordlessly if you can."

Harry became stricken with nervousness. "I'm not sure I can -"

Professor Theodus interrupted the beginnings of his nervous rant. "Yes you can, you have already surpassed the requirements of Nightshade Academy in magical strength, and we just have to see how good you are without your wand."

Harry looked back at the tall bookshelf nervously. Breathing deeply, he closed his eyes and thrust out his hand willing for a book to fly towards him. Feeling quite foolish when nothing happened within the first few seconds, he focused even harder. A loud rumbling noise suddenly filled the air and Harry's eyes snapped open in alarm. It wasn't just _one_ book flying towards him. It seemed that the entire bookshelf had come to life and was going to engulf him under their weight. With a yell, he flung out his hand and was startled to realise that the books had frozen in their paths from turning Harry into a pancake. The man and his professor laughed from the sidelines and waved his hand. The books returned to their rightful places with ease. Harry mourned the man's talent with a small pout on his face.

"This time, try to focus on _one _book please."

Harry blushed furiously but did not close his eyes as he held out his hand. Focusing on a red hard-backed tome right in front of him, he silently willed it to float into his outstretched hand. A triumphant smile lit up Harry's place as the red book niggled out of its tight position but the gleeful expression was abruptly slapped off his face when the book shot out, surpassed his outstretched hand and hit him straight in the face with a loud whack.

"Ow…" he moaned, rubbing his injured nose gingerly.

The man closed his eyes and breathed in deeply for a few minutes. Feeling the hair on the back of neck stand on end and the shudder run down his spine, he sneaked a glance at Harry who watched him curiously.

"All magical beings have a keen sense of magic and are able to measure its strength and control when it is released into the air almost like a perfume when magic is cast. High elves are particularly advanced in this skill and we can detect a signature by smell. Each person's magic has a signature that is unique and the signature carries all the information. You will eventually learn to hide your signature otherwise you remain a walking target," he explained patiently and closed his eyes again.

Inwardly he frowned at the overbearingly sweet tang that stuck in the back of his mouth as he tasted the magic that floated through the air. Thoroughly disconcerted at the taste of death in such small child he turned towards Professor Theodus with a smile that resembled more of a grimace. "He definitely possesses an ample amount of power however his finesse must be cultivated so he can avoid further incidences of being slapped in the face by a book. Interesting choice i must say, Hariel. Perhaps you might be interested in joining me."

Harry looked down at the heavy red book that lay in his hands in confusion. "Sex Positions for the Adventu-," he read aloud before freezing and started to stammer in embarrassment. "No I didn't – I really just – Oh why do you have a book like this anyway?" He gave up at trying to be articulate when the blue eyed man licked his lips and Harry felt like he had been shocked while Professor Theodus inhaled sharply. All previous notions of the man's purity fled from his mind. Harry grumbled as they both turned towards him with a small smirk and moved to put the red book back as the two continued their conversation.

"The lack of finesse can be easily helped with a focus, which traditionally I believe would be his wand?"

Professor Theodus nodded and produced a familiar piece of wood from inside his coat. Harry's heart leapt at the sight. "Yes! My wand!" he rushed forward to snatch it out of the man's hold but was disappointed when it was held it high above his head.

"What are you doing! Give me back my wand, you utter-" Harry stopped, deciding that cursing his new professor wasn't the best thing to do. Instead he jumped wildly, trying to reach that vital piece of wood and cursed his own lack of height, feeling extremely foolish.

"Calm down child, it will be returned to you in another form."

Harry froze with his arm outstretched above him. "Another form?" he echoed blankly.

"Having a wand as a focus is extremely inconvenient as they are easily liable to get lost or damaged, leaving its wielder incapacitated. Therefore, I specialise in recreating the aspects of your wand into something much smaller and harder to lose," the man said serenely and Harry was reminded of Luna for an instant. He took the wand from Professor Theodus' grip and examined it carefully as it revolved in the air before him.

"Phoenix feather core and the wood of holly," he observed and frowned. "For someone as powerful as you, there is no way that this is a potent enough combination that will allow you to reach your full potential."

Harry was baffled by the news. "Well, what would you suggest?"

"Instead of destroying your wand and using its pieces to create a new focus, you must create a primary focus that will tie itself to your body by first being ingested. Your magic which is also currently unstable will become much more refined and easier to control with a bodily related focus."

Harry had blanched at the thought of destroying his wand but quickly became excited at the idea of creating a new focus. "What are we waiting for then?" he asked eagerly, face shining in anticipation.

* * *

><p>Harry watched in horror as the blond man methodically poured into the cauldron various ingredients that were almost definitely <em>not<em> meant to be ingested.

"Basilisk venom….phoenix tear and powdered moonstone…Lethifold blood…"

Harry straightened and crawled over to whisper anxiously into Professor Theodus' ear who was reclined comfortably on the velvet couch. His eyes did not leave the sight of the smoking cauldron. "Are you sure this won't kill me?"

"Ah…." Professor Theodus replied, sounding unsure for the first time and avoided Harry's gaze. "Yes?"

Harry glared at him furiously and gripped the couch tightly. "Why did that sound more like a question than a statement?"

"I assure you, Selvor is absolutely the best in his field."

"You flatter me Alexander. I am merely one of the few left in this lost profession," Selvor replied as he moved gracefully around the cauldron, lifting the ends of his sleeves so they would not be stained.

"What happened to the others?" Harry asked in dread.

"They died from work related accidents."

Harry took a bracing breath and attempted to retreat from his position over Professor Theodus slowly. "Reassuring. Very reassuring. Yes, very. I'm just going to…try and not lose my mind over the fact that I'm going to drink…"

Professor Theodus suddenly grasped the wrist that was supporting Harry and yanked. Harry yelped as he fell face first into the warm lap. Twisting around violently, he looked up in shock as purple eyes filled his vision and let loose a growl of annoyance when a hand crept up his inner thigh. Harry's legs flailed wildly as Professor Theodus pinned his hands against the armrest. "What _are_ you doing?" he hissed as the smirking lips gradually grew closer and the hand rubbed up and down his sides.

He breathed lightly over Harry's face who stiffened. "Distracting you. Is it working?"

"Yes you bastard, now get off me now!" Harry whispered, fully conscious of the way Selvor studied the two of them in the corner of his eye and giving up being polite. Looking back at Professor Theodus he was startled to find narrowed eyes with dilated pupils gazing back at him and gave an involuntary gasp when he licked at his exposed collarbone. Harry's breath grew increasingly sharp as the action was repeated on his neck.

"But I'm enjoying this…" Professor Theodus murmured happily against his collar bone and gripped Harry's hip tightly when he tried to wriggle away.

"If you don't stop now, _I will hex your balls off_," Harry breathed into Professor Theodus' ear and was pleased that the man stopped his ministrations. He stopped and drew back in surprise, silver hair tickling Harry's chin.

"Oh, the kitten has claws," he drawled in mock surprise. Harry twitched but remained silent, his threat clearly outlined in his eyes and his clenched fist. With a sigh of disappointment as Selvor walked over with an unfathomable expression on his face, Professor Theodus released Harry.

"The potion is completed now," Selvor said quietly and thrust a crystal vial into Harry's hand. "You might want to lie down before you drink it."

Harry studied the viscous mercury-like liquid that sloshed around inside it with a grimace. "I…am supposed to_ drink_ this."

"That's the general idea," Selvor replied and pulled Professor Theodus off the couch. "Completely personalised to your magic, it will act like poison to anyone else."

Turning towards Professor Theodus, he asked, "Are you _sure_ this won't kill me. I very much like my current state of being alive."

Professor Theodus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Just drink it. It won't hurt a bit."

Harry groaned as he leaned back onto the couch and held the crystal vial up to his eyes so he could glare into his depths as if he could discern the harmful from the beneficial. Looking back at the observing men he lifted the vial in a small toast. "Well, bottoms up. Good luck to all."

He knocked back the vial and coughed violently as the liquid burned at the back of his throat and coated his mouth with the foul taste of rotten eggs. Tears appeared in the corner of his eyes when Harry clutched at his throat and gasped for breath. Glaring up at the two blurry figures through his tears, Harry gave a muffled groan through gritted teeth as fiery pain exploded within his chest and spread down his extremities. His fingers and toes burned like they had been thrust into the hottest part of a flame and then felt like they were being hammered. Legs thrashing violently, Harry tumbled off the couch and onto the smooth stone floor. His glasses pressed uncomfortably in his cheek and the feeling of fire was quickly replaced with the sensation of his blood turning to ice. His magic rocked within him wildly and Harry fought to keep it contained while it desired to lash out into his surroundings. Harry screamed and arched off the stone floor in agony as he writhed. Finally several minutes later, he slumped and his eyeballs rolled around in his sockets as his vision of the world decided to do a merry dance. Moaning as he slowly heaved himself upwards, he stumbled forwards a few steps and his arms flailed like windmills. The image of Professor Theodus' face came into sharp view before him and Harry grinned dazedly at him.

"Oh no," muttered Selvor and looked at Harry almost fearfully.

"Harry, are you alright?" Professor Theodus asked as he shook Harry slightly by the shoulders. Suddenly, Harry's eyes took on a look of sudden clarity and his only response was to snap out his right arm in a vicious right hook into his professor's shocked face.

"Merlin's saggy balls!" he spat, voice hoarse from his screaming. "_Wouldn't hurt a bit!_ I think that hurt quite a bit didn't you? Oh couldn't you tell with all the _yelling_! It was worse than the Cruciatus curse!"

Furiously and without a word, he ignored the way Selvor ogled at him and retrieved his wand. Transfiguring some proper clothes out of some curtains, he slid them on angrily and growled when his foot refused to slide through his new jeans. Throwing the hated tunic into the fireplace he whispered, "_Incendio._"

He tucked the wand into the back pocket of his jeans and left the room, closing the door behind him with slam. He did not look at anyone as he did so.

Both men stared at the door in stunned disbelief. One gaped openly and mourned the loss of his gossamer curtains while the other could not believe that his advanced incubus senses did not warn him that a human child was about to punch him. A low whistle sounded from the corner of the room followed by low chuckling.

"I like him."

* * *

><p>AN: _**Question: What would you like for Harry's animagus form to be? I already have my mind set on something but would like general opinion in case there's something everyone really like.**_

About the weapons, I got a very mixed view on Hogwarts related swords but hopefully I have found a way to appease everyone. Please tell me what you think of this chapter, I wrote it fairly quickly after exams because I did not want to keep people waiting. Personally, I'm not happy but I almost never am with any of my stories.

Please review and tell me what you think :D I would very much like to reach 100 reviews!

**Lovely Agony: **If you do read this, I apologise so much for not replying to your PM. By the time I had the change to reply, had changed their website settings and I could not reply using the link provided anymore! And you've also disabled them for your account. I totally didn't forget about you! I'M SORRY.


	4. The Ceremony

_Disclaimer: I seriously don't own Harry Potter. If I could, I'd own AVPM and AVPS and Starship and Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who and….._

_A/N: Sorry for the extremely long wait for Chapter 4, I went through an extremely rough patch recently (Exams. Crying daily. Enough said.) but I'm glad to say I'm on the bounce back. Having said that, thank you for all the wonderful reviews for Chapter 3. They really lifted my spirits and allowed me to continue writing! I will be seriously surprised if anyone actually reads this story anymore…. O_O_

_**This chapter is dedicated to **__**Raeser**__** for suggesting Harry of having the animagus form of a Nargle, because it was such a stupendously wonderful and funny idea. Also to **__**Hidden in White Light**__** and **__**Mou'Ikka **__**for being absolutely magnificent.**_

_**(I think I might as well dedicate the entire story to **__**RebeccaSeverusSnape**__** and **__**xfireworkzstarx**__** because I love them so much.)**_

_Italics - Parseltongue_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: The Ceremony<strong>

Harry slammed the door behind him and leant against it with a long drawn out sigh as he slowly slid to the floor. Cradling his head in his hand, he squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip. The sensation of a volcano erupting within his chest and magical turmoil had not completely dissipated from his body. Harry grabbed at his hair and tugged until he felt the slight burn distract him. A small groan of frustration escaped from his lips.

"Bloody hell," he muttered and tilted his head backwards onto the door, silently wishing for all the pain to release him from its stinging tentacles that had seemed to wrap around his body. Gradually, he no longer felt like it had been roasted on a cold fire and Harry was suddenly floored by an overwhelming sense of stability in his magical core, feeling like he had just survived a night of heavy drinking and finally reached the aspirin.

"Whoa," he said unsteadily as he felt every particle inside of him settle into an undisturbed pool of energy. Harry marvelled at how his magic flowed throughout his body like a steady river and for the first time realised how his magic had been so uncontrollable before, a temperamental geyser. His body thrumming with energy and the sensation of magical power cracking evenly under the surface of his skin, his oversensitive pain receptors were gently soothed. He flexed his fingers when he felt his magic surface. He watched it swirl around them in a mesmerising dance of bright colours before coaxing it back under his skin. Calm washed over him and feeling relaxed for the first time in a long while, Harry finally realised something.

And blinked.

"What the hell?" he asked his blurred vision of the shop's counter. Shaking hands reached up to grasp at his old glasses and pulled them off. His vision cleared immediately. Harry eyebrows knitted together and put them on again. And took them off again. After repeating this trial five times, he finally allowed himself to believe that his eyesight had magically corrected itself and punched the air in triumph.

"Ha! Yes!" Harry shouted into the shop's interior but his verbal celebrations were cut off when the sting on his knuckles returned. Rubbing them absentmindedly, he smirked slightly. _I probably shouldn't have punched him_, Harry mused and wondered how Professor Theodus would act around him now.

_Oh whatever. He deserved it._

* * *

><p>Both Selvor and Professor Theodus did not look happy at the sudden appearance of a third presence and even less when they discovered who it was. Selvor tossed his long braid over his shoulder and let out an exasperated sigh, "Ethan, you are <em>not<em> permitted here unless you are donating blood. Which you rarely do, unless I've tracked you across _two continents_," he added in mild irritation before waving his hand at the fireplace and extinguishing the fire.

The man stepped out of the shadows and brushed back the black wavy locks of his hair nonchalantly but they fell over his face again anyway. Striking was the only word to describe the man. The pale skin contrasted heavily against the black hair appealingly and the eyes gleamed like polished obsidian stared out from beneath. A faint scent of danger, cobwebs and blood floated in the air around him as he padded silently towards the couch casually shrugged off a black leather jacket as he spoke. "Oh come on Selvor. Don't be such an uptight arse. Live a little! The only time you get out of this little hidey hole is when you're chasing me around the globe. Oh I remember our _lovely_ time in Africa…."

Selvor twitched a little in remembrance of the numerous times that he had trudged through swamps and other disgusting questionable matter in an attempt to find the man; to which he considered an act of supreme blasphemy against his white robes. "What are you doing here?" he asked, bowing his head and surveying Ethan through tired eyes.

Ethan ignored him and walked over towards Professor Theodus before they both stood stock still, observing each other coolly. Black eyes met amethyst and a silent battle of will ensued. Tension crackled in the air before a small cold smile curled Ethan's lips. "Well met, Lord Incubus," he said with a tiny stiff inclination of his head.

"Well met, Lord Lethifold," Professor Theodus answered just as neutrally accompanied with an awkward spasm of the shoulder. "We have not been properly introduced. I am Lord Theodus, third great grand-child to the Succubus Queen."

"I am Lord Elkasir of the Higher Lethifold Council. I believe we met once before at the Queen's third wedding."

"Oh yes I remember that well, we did not part with the warmest of goodbyes. It is unusual for us to meet again here of all days and places, Lord Elkasir," Professor Theodus inquired with a raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes.

Ethan's gloved hand jumped up to ruffle his hair again and he stalked over towards the couch before lounging on it, managing to make the simple movement look sensuous and seductive. "It is not every day that a simple human manages to ingest my blood and survive. I thought it a matter of my interest to look into. Something to keep me occupied, living for so long can make the most extraordinary things look like Selvor's life story, probably the least fascinating thing ever to come into existence." He suddenly leaned forward and his dark eyes took on a predatory gleam as he studied the door that Harry had disappeared behind. "But him, this _Hariel_. Oh I know that nothing could ever be boring around him," he nearly whispered with a small smirk twisting his lips.

Professor Theodus suddenly strode forward angrily towards the other man. "You will _not_ cast Hariel under your shadow of death and decay, _Lethifold. _I will not allow it. He has a pure soul that should not be tainted with the likes of _you_ and your kind or stolen in the night like so many of your victims!"

Ethan jumped up at this last comment and the shadows around his eyes grew darker as he snarled in Professor Theodus' face. "Hold your tongue, _Incubus_. How dare you speak of my race in that way? What gives you the right to hold us in contempt? Your precious Headmistress won't always be around to protect you and when that day draws near…We are both dark creatures, you hypocrite!"

"Dark creature you may be but is it not true that Lethifolds are believed to be the most evil and foul beings to walk this earth? After all, you are elevated forms of Dementors," Selvor interjected calmly with a small smile and scrubbed at a curious stain on his table.

"Hah! It is stupidity of the lesser races in the wake of our supremacy...as demonstrated by our Lord Incubus. I remember exactly why we did not get along at the Queen's wedding now. Your displeasure at our existence was made very clear with your ridiculous act," he crowed with a mocking bow in Professor Theodus' direction.

"I refuse to be goaded by such unintelligent statements. You _will_ stay away from Hariel or I shall see fit to smite your existence," he hissed and his black nails lengthened. Ethan responded with an animalistic snarl and despairing cold filled the atmosphere as he glared at the other man with vicious eyes before starting to take long strides forward.

"_Excuse me_. Perhaps I should decide who stays away from me?"

Both men turned in shock to the green-eyed boy who stood by Selvor who bore a distinctly exasperated expression towards the stubborn stain. "When did you come back in?" Professor Theodus asked, instantly losing his hostile demeanour in the wake of his student's reappearance.

"When you were too busy bickering to notice," Harry said and he turned to Selvor, patting him on the arm soothingly. "The potion was a complete success."

Selvor closed his eyes and gently sniffed the air around Harry, occasionally flicking his tongue to taste it like a snake. He relaxed in contentment at the sensation of stability but pursed his lips at the tang of death that still stuck to the back of this throat. It seemed it would not dissipate, no matter what he did. "Yes I dare say it was." _Relatively at least_, he thought.

"Thank you so much for your brilliant work, I feel absolutely wonderful now," commented Harry brightly, flexing his fingers and feeling the almost tangible magic drifting among them. He resisted the urge to twirl around happily, feeling that would undermine his manliness.

All three men silently agreed as Harry had seemingly transformed within the few minutes he spent outside. A confident smile adorned his face and his large emerald eyes, no longer hidden behind small spectacles, sparkled with quiet mirth. His transfigured jeans clung to him in all the right places and for the first time in a long while, his shirt was not a grey hand-me-down from Dudley. Professor Theodus eyeballed him appreciatively while Ethan gave a low whistle, and the other man shot him a disgruntled look.

"Much better clothes," Professor Theodus quipped. "So you do have some taste after all."

"Of course, I didn't exactly choose what I've been wearing for the past fifteen years." Harry grimaced in remembrance of the times Dudley had destroyed the new clothes he had purchased from Diagon Alley. "Like it?"

"Oh very much so. Ethan Elkasir, _extreme_ pleasure to meet you," Ethan purred as he stalked around Harry and then crashed his lips upon the poor unsuspecting boy's. Harry gave a muffled squeak of surprise and in the distance he heard Professor Theodus snarl and the snap of splintering wood. Coal black eyes stared into his and the lips curled into a small smile against his before the man pushed Harry against the wall, forcing his protesting hands against the cold wood with an iron grip. Harry gasped and Ethan took the chance to slip his tongue inside. Freezing cold and the musty taste of cobwebs erupted within his mouth and he shivered when it spread down into his stomach. Harry groaned and struggled when the sensation of tugging reverberated through every fibre of his being, feeling like a Dementor was tearing his soul away. Suddenly, before the kiss had even seemed to have begun, Ethan was ripped away from Harry violently by a scowling professor and an intrigued Selvor.

"What are you doing, you _krielfus_!" Professor Theodus demanded as he slammed Ethan roughly against the wall.

"Oh, the Lord Incubus must be _angry_ to resort to such crude language," Ethan smiled languidly as he licked his lips and patted the hands curled around his throat. Professor Theodus made a small noise of disgust before roughly releasing his hold on the other man.

"_Get out_."

"Farewell Hariel, I bet I'll see you around more when your caretaker doesn't have you on such a tight leash," Ethan replied with a smirk while staring into Professor Theodus' furious amethyst eyes and melted into the shadows. Harry stood against the wall, palms flat and took frantic breaths trying not to slide down to the floor.

"Alright, I don't think I'll ever get used to him," Harry mumbled as he swiped his hand across his lips repeatedly, trying to dispel the freezing cold that enveloped them still. Something about the kiss disturbed him still.

"You won't have to," growled Professor Theodus as he hauled Harry to his feet. "Not if I have anything to say about it. Thank you, Selvor. Your payment will be sent to you as usual. We'll show ourselves out."

Selvor gave a solemn nod and smiled slowly, trying hard to ignore the splintered mass of wood that had previously been his work table. He nudged the piece of wood that held the stain with his foot unhappily. "Goodbye, Circe's luck upon you both. Oh Harry, you're welcome to come back any time and visit me. We can try out those positions together. I'm sure they'd be most exciting for us both. Maybe Alexander can join someday too."

He gestured towards the novel sitting innocently on the bookshelf with an indulging smirk which quickly melted in an expression of supreme serenity.

Professor Theodus rolled his eyes before dragging a coloured Harry behind him to the door that lead to the shop front.

"Ah thanks!" Harry called out to the serene blond man before the door swung shut behind him. An uncomfortable silence permeated the air as he continued staring at the wooden door. Harry turned around and inspected the professor's stony face which resolutely faced the wall. An expression of mild irritation and anger was frozen upon the man's features. Harry fell silent at the sight and swallowed his questions about the strange man in black. Professor Theodus turned away from Harry towards the door and started to speak, weariness and embarrassment colouring his words, however Harry was relieved to hear a lack of annoyance. "I'll forget the fact that you punched me, if you forget that you managed to do so."

"Of course, sir," Harry replied with an easy grin and followed Professor Theodus back into the bustling streets of Erothor where he was once again swept away by its magnificence.

* * *

><p>Harry fingered the charm around his neck repeatedly; now completely paranoid that he would lose it before he had the chance to learn Occlumency properly. Professor Theodus' warning words echoed in his ears.<p>

"_The eyes are not windows to the soul, they are the doors. Beware what may enter them," Professor Theodus said lowly in Harry's ear as they neared a large stone archway. "Guard them as well as you can. Especially against _this_ old man."_

'This old man' didn't turn out to be a man at all but rather an extremely short goblin with a trim triangular beard, two pointed ears and a short temper to match. Two slanted eyes shone like black beetles and peered up at him. Harry stared at the stout goblin before him in disbelief who glared right back at him, a sneer turning the corners of his lips. Harry quickly dropped his gaze to the floor when he felt the charm warm slightly in warning. The old goblin circled while looking Harry up and down and scratched at his bald head with long tapered fingers before staring at the wand stuffed in the back pocket of Harry's jeans and snickered lightly. Harry twisted and fidgeted under the inspection and jumped when a finger prodded his stomach.

"You brought me a human wizard, Incubus," he croaked as he stroked his beard and pushed up the round spectacles on his hooked nose. "Are you trying to make a joke?

Professor Theodus smiled and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, who winced as the hand tightened into a claw. "No, Goblin Hawthorne. This boy is already a Nightshade student and under our agreement you must provide every student with their necessary weaponry and ar-"

The goblin cut him off with a grunt and an impatient wave of his grimy hand as he dawdled back to the anvil and resumed hammering, the harsh sound quickly grinding itself permanently into Harry's brain. "Yes Incubus, I recognise the agreement with the school but it doesn't mean that I have to like it, do I?"

"You don't have to like it," Professor Theodus said gently and released Harry from his vice like grip as he walked forward towards the sulky goblin. Taking a glowing half-finished blade from the furnace, Professor Theodus waved it around experimentally as he continued speaking. "Every race knows that goblin armour and weaponry is unsurpassable. We want nothing but the best for our students in every aspect therefore - "

"Yes, _I know_. Stop your blithering and follow me into the back room," the goblin said and put down the hammer. Harry watched as Professor Theodus threw him a small look of triumph and followed after the two with a small amused smile twisting the corner of his lips. The goblin ran his hand down a high metal door in a similar manner to when Griphook had first opened Harry's vault. He heard numerous locks slowly clicking open one by one in slow succession and stumbled backwards when the door slowly slid open, expelling copious amounts of dust. Coughing lightly, Harry stared in awe at the number of blades lining the walls that were suddenly illuminated by flaming torches. Professor Theodus lightly tapped Harry's mouth shut with small grin and nudged him into the musty room. Harry sucked in his stomach as he entered by reflex, careful to dodge any protruding blades that he was sure could slice him open at the lightest touch, only to recoil backwards when he found a dagger pointed right between his eyes.

"Hawthorne, try not to frighten the boy too much," Professor Theodus sighed when he sighted the alarmed expression on Harry's face.

"If he gets scared off by this, then he doesn't deserve a position at Nightshade," the goblin muttered and handed the dagger to Harry, who took it with narrowed eyes but refrained from retorting. "Which sword is he assigned?"

Professor Theodus looked down at the list that Madame Merin had gifted him and violet eyes widened in slight surprise. "Idris."

Goblin Hawthorne glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye, who was still inspecting the dagger in his hands. "Typical human wizards." He grouched towards the sword that lay furthest away from them on the lowest shelf and stared at it. "Well come on! What are you waiting for! Get over here!"

Harry strode forwards tentatively until he stood by the goblin, staring at the beautiful sword laying half hidden in the folds of purple velvet. Ignoring the goblin's half-hearted protest, he reached forwards and grasped the elaborate silver hilt of the sword. _It's beautiful_, Harry thought with a smile as he pulled it out with a flourish, running his hand down the flat of the blade and marvelled at how it seemed to wink in and out of existence. Holding the sword upright in front of him, he studied the seemingly transparent metal curiously and inspected the green-blue hue it possessed.

"Crushed steel and enchanted glass smelted together and forged in the breath of a dragon. Extremely strong, nigh unbreakable," Goblin Hawthorne explained gruffly, a tinge of pride in his voice. "The glass gives its slightly transparent quality. One of my best works."

Harry lightly traced the silver cross-guard hilt of the sword with adoring fingers, fingering the large round emerald that was set on the end of the handle and the small silver snake wrapped around it forming a loose cross. The goblin took the sword from him carefully and balanced it across his finger. "The blade is perfectly balanced for optimum speed and handling. The fuller on the blade assists rigidity. The hilt is inlaid with an emerald on the end that when pressed, the sword splits in two."

Handing the sword back to Harry, the goblin pressed his long tapered fingers against the emerald. Harry nearly dropped the swords in shock as it split apart down the centre along an invisible seam and ignored the goblin's snort. Grinning wildly, he grasped the swords in each of his hands firmly and it felt like an extension of his own arm. The hilts now thinner, felt more delicate in his hands but Harry was sure they could take whatever abuse that it would sustain in the future. The metallic blades were now so thin that they could hardly be seen. Turning towards Professor Theodus and the goblin, he bit his lip in a suppressed grin and resisted the urge to throw his arms around the both of them in thanks.

"I love this," Harry mumbled, inwardly ecstatic and swung the sword in his left hand experimentally. A small section of the shelf flew off as the sword nicked it and the wood landed with a small thud on the goblin's head. Eyes widening in mortification, Harry opened his mouth to apologise but fell silent at the look on the goblin's face.

"Rejoin the swords by pressing them together and they will melt together," Goblin Hawthorne said roughly with a biting edge to his voice, watching as Harry followed his instructions. Bringing the two pieces together, they snapped together as if they were magnetised before the snake suddenly wrapped around the pommel unwound itself and sunk its fangs into Harry's hand. He hissed in pain and glared at the small silver snake that retreated back into its position while his blood welled up from the pricks on his hand.

"What was that for!" Harry exclaimed, licking away the blood.

"The sword is now bonded to you and will respond best to you as long as you treat it well. It's best if you just learn about Idris along the way rather than telling you everything myself. Here is the scabbard," the goblin replied without hesitation and handed Harry a long slim wooden scabbard.

"Thank you," Harry muttered and slid the sword in place after little difficulty before swinging it onto shoulder as instructed.

Professor Theodus eyed him critically. "We're going to have to start with the basics of sword wielding with you. Starting with a lesson on how to sheathe a sword."

Harry rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I look forward to that."

"Do you even know remotely how to use a sword?"

"Uh…kind of? The pointy end goes into the other guy," Harry stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Professor Theodus stared at him incredulously for a minute before releasing a sigh. "This is going to take a lot of work…"

"Take care of that sword. Incubus Theodus will show you how. I don't want to see you at all again because of a broken blade or anything! You take care of Idris!" the goblin growled forcefully and poked Harry in the chest repeatedly. Harry stumbled backwards at the force of the bad-tempered prods with a bemused look and nodded frantically.

"Of course I will, sir," Harry said firmly. "And I'll return it back to you as the rightful owner on the occasion of my death."

Goblin Hawthorne looked momentarily startled as he stared into Harry's eyes. "You've caught a strange one, Incubus Theodus. Not many humans understand the concept of ownership." He stared at Harry's green eyes thoughtfully who struggled to look away when he felt the charm around his neck warm to a painful degree. The goblin laughed as if sharing a private joke with Harry. "However…" He let out a wheezy laugh that seemed to rack his body and walked out the door.

Harry turned around to Professor Theodus and silently inquired with his eyes what the goblin was on before fingering the charm around his neck again worriedly. Professor Theodus shrugged a reply and gestured for Harry to step outside impatiently, careful to check that the sword wasn't going to slip out accidently from the scabbard. Goblin Hawthorne stood there waiting with a bundle of leather and cloth in his hands which he immediately handed to Harry.

"This is your uniform to be worn at formal Nightshade occasions and a leather coat for casual protection. Both are fireproof, waterproof and should protect you from most attacks, magical or otherwise. You take care of these and fix them yourself."

Harry pulled on the arms of the black coat swiftly and glared down at the pooling hem at his feet. He raised his arm and watched dispassionately at the overflowing sleeve. "It's a little big, sir," he commented dryly.

Goblin Hawthorne let out a guffaw at the ridiculous sight as Harry turned around to Professor Theodus with a suffering expression on his face and promptly tripped. Professor Theodus smiled indulgently and waved his hand over Harry, resizing the clothes. Thoroughly relieved that he could see his fingers and feet again, he muttered a small thanks.

"You'll be able to change the design of it later when you have time," Professor Theodus said, eyeing the way Harry tugged at the sleeves critically. "We have to get back to the school soon, Hariel."

Harry shouldered Idris again with a lingering caress on the hilt and folded up the uniform in his arm, noticing the Nightshade emblem emblazoned on the top. He turned towards the goblin who watched him with shrewd and calculating eyes. Trying to ignore the feeling of being dissected he mumbled respectfully, "Thank you for all your help. I promise to take care of everything to the best of my ability."

Goblin Hawthorne smiled and Harry inwardly cringed at the rows of pointed teeth that were bared in the sharkiest of smiles Harry had ever seen. The goblin plucked a half finished sword out of the glowing coals and slapped it into his palm. "You see that you do, Viridis. Farewell, Incubus Theodus."

A little disconcerted, Harry gave a stiff bow and retreated out of the shop as quickly as he could with Professor Theodus following at a much more sedate pace. As soon as he had exited he let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and coughed a few times for good measure.

"Wow, Hawthorne is just…wow," Harry said, and his eyebrows show up so high they disappeared into his hairline.

"I agree. I believe the term is 'eccentric'," Professor Theodus said.

"No. Mr Ollivander is eccentric. He is just _weird_."

"She," Professor Theodus corrected lightly and coughed into his fist.

Harry was positive his eyebrows couldn't climb any further. "What did you say?"

"Goblin Hawthorne is female."

Harry stared and started to feel the onslaught of a very large headache beginning to grow in the back of his mind.

* * *

><p>Only Harry could find himself the owner of such bossy and temperamental snake with the self-chosen name of Salazar.<p>

"Remind me Hariel, just how did you manage to acquire this snake?" Professor Theodus asked with an air of infinite patience while his amethyst scrutinised the snake that was now slithering over every part of Harry's body. It studied it with yellow eyes while hissing quietly in approval, looking much too possessive for Professor Theodus' liking. Harry absentmindedly tried to pull off the snake that clung to him to close for comfort.

"I walked into the shop and it slithered up my pants before demanding I took it home. I didn't have much of a choice in the matter," Harry answered honestly and grumbled with the snake's grip on his leg grew stronger. "Apparently its name is Salazar."

Professor Theodus' eyebrows twitched in surprise and leaned against the alley wall that they were currently hiding in. "Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"Apparently."

"The previous owner must have had a strange sense of humour," Professor Theodus said as he brushed some yellow dust off his shoulder.

"No, he chose it himself apparently," Harry said and continued trying to pry the snake off his leg. "_Come on, if you stay there I won't be able to walk."_

"_It is impolite to talk about people as if they're not there," _Salazar hissed but slithered up Harry's offered arm obligingly. "_You're not exactly worthy to be my companion but you will do, for now. I've been waiting many years for a speaker so I could leave."_

"_Keep insulting me and I'll just leave you here."_

"_You leave me here and you'll never hear the end of it from the other snakes that will find you once I start spreading rumours."_

The snake and the boy glared at each other until Harry huffed out a sigh. "_Why am I stuck with you…"_

"_As if you would be my first choice if there were any other viable options."_

"_That was a rhetorical question."_

"_I am surprised you know the definition of rhetorical."_

"As interesting as that was to watch," Professor Theodus interjected sharply while gazing at the quickly darkening sky streaked with the bright red of sunset. "It is getting late and we must return to Archosaur for the Ceremony. There's no time to walk back."

Harry groaned quietly and shuffled about hesitantly as Professor Theodus forcibly stripped him out of his new coat and into the uniform. Salazar hissed in annoyance at the disruption and darted up Harry's shirt. Cool scales pressed against bare skin as Harry danced around in discomfort. "Ah- cold! You never mentioned a ceremony before. Shadow stalking there then?"

"The initiation ceremony of inducting you formally as a Nightshade Academy student begins in a few minutes and of course, how else would we get there," Professor Theodus replied with a devious smirk and wrapped his arm tightly around Harry's waist who shuddered when the hand roamed up and down his side. "Hold on tight, kitten," he whispered and Harry felt the warm breath tickle his ear while a warm hand caressed the side of his face.

"You're going to crush Salaza-AH!

And they dissolved into the shadows.

* * *

><p>One uncomfortable and unpleasant sensation later, Harry found his hair being repeatedly flattened by a growling incubus in front of a high menacing door made of dark stone, which towered over Harry and made him feel like an ant inside a giant's world.<p>

"Does it _ever_ lie flat?" Professor Theodus muttered irritably under his breath and applied more force onto Harry's head until he was sure that his knees would crack under the downward pressure. Harry pushed the hand off his head and looked down at his uniform for the first time properly. He lightly touched the silver Nightshade emblem over his heart and smoothed down the four pointed tails of the coat that extended down to his feet, all decorated at the ends with a strange Celtic pattern.

"You were watching me for several weeks, haven't you realise that it just _doesn't_?" Harry said, plucking at his sleeves and straightening the high stiff collar repeatedly. He reached down and tugged at the leather boots that Professor Theodus had gifted him just moments before attaining Salazar.

"You can't go in looking like this," he said flatly, smoothing the wrinkles out of Harry's new uniform although Harry suspected it was just an excuse to feel him up. "You look like you just had the wildest sex of your life."

"Isn't there supposed to be some appeal in that?" Harry mumbled, bright red with embarrassment, and joined in with Professor Theodus' attempts to smooth the crinkles. Professor Theodus' eyes shone with amusement as he drew Harry snug against his chest and nuzzled the nest of raven hair, breathing in the scent of myrrh.

"There's a great amount of appeal in that, kitten," he purred, one hand stroking down Harry's spine repeatedly while another trailed over his jaw. Stiffening slightly, Harry hurriedly stepped out of the man's hold, immediately missing the warmth and stroked Salazar's head gently before aiming a silent glare at his professor. Appreciative hisses floated into his ear.

"_A little lower..oh that's nice. Maybe you are useful after all."_

Professor Theodus sighed and reached out to gently comb his fingers through Harry's hair again. "You look even worse now."

"And who's fault is that?" Harry commented lightly, touching his wand that was slotted into his new holster and melted under the pleasant sensation of being petted. Professor Theodus opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the slow deep rumbling that reverberated through the castle as the large doors slowly swung inwards. Bright and warm light hit Harry's face as the crack between the doors slowly grew larger and larger until they swung to the sides with a concluding thud.

Harry's breath caught in his throat at the sight of thousands of people who swung around in their seats to pin him down with curious and judging stares with matching sets of curious wings and tails. Eyes wide and more than a little panicked at the sight of so many magical creatures in the one room, all with questionable intent towards him, Harry took a large breath and walked forwards steadily down the aisle between the tables. Keeping his eyes on the silver throne like chair on the raised platform on the other side of the hall, Harry did his best to ignore the multitude of eyes in myriads of colours and the rising volume of hisses and mutterings. Little pinpricks of pain flared where the fingernails were starting to dig into his palm.

He slowed to a stop right before the platform and looked levelly at the stern but beautiful face of whom he was sure to be Headmistress Merkovich. Gazing at him for a moment through glowing eyes of azure that foretold of extreme powers, she surveyed him from a moment before breaking out in a warm smile and reached forward to clasp his hand in hers. Gasping at the intense cold that swamped his fingers, Harry resisted the urge to flinch under her strong grip. She stood and her long pale blue robes the colour of ice fell to the floor as she drew Harry around so he faced the hall.

"Today, we are welcoming a new student to our ranks," she declared firmly, her voice ringing with power and conviction. "Today, we welcome Hariel Viridis."

The silence was deafening and Harry could feel the blood pounding in his ears. The pressure of magic was almost tangible in the air and small crackles slid over his skin where the pale hand still held his. Her other hand waved through the air and a silver bowl appeared between the two of them, gently falling in her waiting hand.

"A union honoured by blood, Nightshade Academy welcomes Hariel Viridis."

Blue eyes, not unlike Dumbledore's, surveyed him again before pressing a small dagger against his finger. Harry watched the blood well up and drip into the large decorative bowl in frozen fascination. His blood slowly dissipated into the clear liquid which sloshed around violently, a sense of finality settled upon his shoulders like a cloak.

"You are a Nightshade student now. And everyone here will be your family," she whispered and lightly kissed Harry's forehead, who froze and smiled up at her warmly. Everyone in the hall promptly stood up and held their right arm over their chest, hand resting over the heart.

"Numquam non paratus!" thundered in hundreds of voices, holding the conviction and resolution of ages.

"Thank you," Harry said firmly and by instinct, bowed lowly to Headmistress Merkovich, hiding the small tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. She silently dropped a light blue jewel into his hands and ignored Harry's confused expression. Professor Theodus suddenly appeared by his shoulder and laid a gentle hand on his arm, leading him out of the hall away from the Headmistress and the rest of the school. Harry gave a sudden yawn as he felt the day's activities catch up on him in a rush and rested his head obligingly onto Professor Theodus' chest when he was drawn into a tight embrace.

"Well done, Harry Potter," he murmured and stroked the raven locks slowly as the boy finally dropped off into well deserved sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Next chapter: Sneak Preview<em>

"_Control_, Viridis," the man said with vindictive glee, circling Harry slowly like a starving jackal as his red eyes bored into Harry's. "Without control, there is no magic. Just a fountain of magical _vomit_. _Again_, Viridis."

Harry growled in frustration as he felt the eyes of the class rest solidly on him. He lifted his hand to perform the simplest of spells '_Wingardium Leviosa', _allowing the magic to flow from his core and down into his arm when Professor Crux rapped on his knuckles with his cane.

"No, Viridis," he said and he smiled with an odd glint in his eyes, revealing his lengthened canines. "Like this."

He raised a hand towards Harry who warily backed away and half-heartedly raised an arm to block whatever unknown spell that was coming. However, he wasn't expecting an Unforgivable to be shot his way.

"_Crucio!"_

Harry's mouth dropped open in a scream as he writhed.

* * *

><p><em>AN: There we are then. Chapter 4 at its completion, with just a hint of what to come in Chapter 5. Once again, I'm not pleased with what has transpired and I apologise for the lack of action throughout this chapter but I did need to get all the groundwork over and done with so I hope you will forgive me. I also apologise for any mistakes since I don't think I edited this enough._

_Please tell me what you think of my choices so far and if you think this story is on the right track._

_**By the way, who else is a Pottermore Beta tester :D ! Oh and, if I drew pictures from this and put them on my DeviantArt, would anyone be interested in seeing them?**_

_Review please, i love constructive criticism since it helps me to become a better writer._


	5. The Dreaded Author Note

**Depressing Author Note/Hiatus**

I am truly sorry but I must put **Nightshade Academy on hiatus until at least 3/4 weeks later until I can get my life in order**. The gap between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 was noticeably lengthier than this but this time I wanted to give proper notice, as some of you thought I was abandoning it, which is definitely my fault.

I know that putting a hiatus on a story so early in its journey is probably a sign that I am not putting much effort into this story and have no love for it, but **I assure you that I have every intention continuing and completing this story.**

I am currently in the beginnings of my HSC year [Year 12. Last year of high school], for those unfamiliar with the Australian education system, **this is the year where _every single assessment_ counts towards a mark that determines what University I can get into.**

What's more, is that in 3 weeks, Assessment Week is coming up.

Even more frustratingly, I just got my Year 11 report back today and trust me, I am less than pleased with the results. (Apart from the fact that I came first in Textiles again :D ) So I definitely aim to put more effort into my school work from now on because this year will most likely affect me for the REST OF MY LIFE.

I am not happy with this decision. I'm guessing neither are you. But right now all I can think of is how much I dislike school, how much I regret and how much I want to put this report in the shredder right now.

I really don't want my story to be riddled with annoying meaningless angst just because I want to convey my frustrations in a manner that doesn't involve a flying brick.

_**I sincerely hope that you will continue to support this story and therefore myself during this period. Thank you everyone who has so far and I promise that I will do whatever it takes to see Nightshade Academy slotted into the category of 'Completed'.**_


	6. New Company

**A/N: **_Hello all and welcome back to another chapter of Nightshade Academy. I am infinitely pleased to announce that I am off my hiatus! The summer holidays have finally rolled around and despite horrifying amounts of cosplay, homework and assignments to complete, it does mean more time dedicated towards this story and several more Drarry oneshots. (Including the secondary chapter of Crossing Enemy Lines… (maybe)._

_Since I doubt anyone actually reads these author notes, __**one final thanks to all reviewers and especially to ORKCHILD whose advice possibly might get me through my final year and Kazztar for being a most wonderful consultant on all things Harry Potter.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 5: <strong>__New Company_

When Harry woke the next morning, the first thing he noticed, to his great pleasure was that his trunk had been returned, miraculously unharmed from its combustion into flames the other day. Letting loose a huge grin, he stared at the scenery outside and chuckled in unbridled excitement for the new day.

Sunlight streamed through the high arched windows, illuminating the room with soft rays and warming the bed sheets that Harry had pulled around him into a small cocoon. The sky was peppered by white clouds and was a sure sign that summer was heatedly roiling around outside, the high temperature kept at bay by the charms inside the room. Hedwig soared in and settled on her new porch by the bed happily, walking backwards and forth across is approvingly.

"Hello Hedwig," he said softly. "Did you have a good flight?"

Without waiting for an answer, Harry smoothly stood up from the double bed and stepped onto the balcony, hissing as his feet touched the cold stone floor. He paused in his movements when he looked down at himself and felt the unfamiliar brush of cotton pyjamas. Twitching slightly at the thought of Professor Theodus undressing him, Harry quickly shoved the idea as far into the recesses of his mind as he could. He breathed in a lungful of salty sea air, glad his room had been relocated to one of the towers and not the underwater dormitories where the green light filtering through the water reminded him of the Slytherin dorms. The lack of frightening vampires on roofs was a great improvement, although if anything further dropped down on him, he was going to have a serious word with Professor Theodus. Turning inside, he discovered that although his trunk had been returned, its contents were in no way the same judging by the lack of old scruffy hand-me-downs. Although, it was a great relief to find his wand and invisibility cloak safely tucked away in a pocket.

"I took the liberty of restocking your trunk with all the necessary equipment and books that you'll need for your subjects."

Harry whirled around in shock, hand held up high in front of him ready to hurl a deadly spell. He let out a sigh at the sight of Professor Theodus leaning casually against the wall, his coat in stark contrast on the creamy white walls.

"How do you know what my subjects are?"

Professor Theodus wordlessly held up the list Madam Merin had gifted him with a perfectly neutral expression and turned towards the trunk. Harry cocked his head to the side in contemplation as he watched Professor Theodus. Something was off; as if the knob that set his playful manner had been switched to 'extremely low'.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked carefully.

Professor Theodus looked at him. He just looked with the blankest expression, as if all emotion had been wiped clean off the slate. Harry stared back into those amethyst eyes, increasingly worried. "Is something wrong, Professor?" he repeated.

Professor Theodus shook his head slowly before waving a hand dismissively, dissipating the strange air that surrounded him. "No, just thinking about how far you've come. Now be careful today Harry. Nightshade is to be your family and will always be on your side against the world, but like every family it has a fair share of unwanted relations. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, still frowning. _There's something you're not telling me isn't there._ "What's going to happen now?"

"Well, you need to get dressed and go to the hall for breakfast. I thought that doing it alone would not be a pleasant experience, but if I went with you, they might take it as a sign of weakness," Professor Theodus said as he tossed some clothes to Harry. "Never underestimate first impressions."

"Weakness," Harry mumbled under his breath, trying to get changed by showing the least amount of skin possible, resulting in him keeling over as his foot got tangled in a sleeve. Professor Theodus threw him a patronising glance.

"Once you're ready, I have another student outside who I think is suitable for showing you around waiting outside. You share many of the same classes and he is friendly," he continued and in afterthought. "Perhaps overly so."

Harry brushed down the new coat he was wearing, pleased with the fit and freedom of movement the slits in the sleeves allowed him. He considered strapping his new blade to his back but Professor Theodus made that decision for him when he placed it into a case next to the trunk.

"Won't I need that?"

"Not for now, all your combat classes are going to focus on the versatility of weapon use rather than your own. There's nothing worse than being forced into a fight with a weapon you aren't familiar with, Hariel."

Harry jerked at the sound of his new name and he took a shuddering breath in preparation. Walking out that door would be a new person, one who was committed towards preparation and fighting for a cause to help his friends and family. He had a sinking feeling that his 'saving people thing' was going to pop up a lot more often as well.

"As that is all, I'll leave you with your guide and shall see you again tonight to discuss with you your progress," Professor Theodus said nonchalantly and walked towards a shadow in the corner, disappearing silently into the darkness. Harry watched him go, brows furrowed and lips pursed. Something was definitely wrong; the professor hadn't made a pass at Harry all morning.

* * *

><p>When Harry stepped out of his room, he caught a flash of tanned skin before he was immediately bowled over by an exuberant hug that knocked the breath out of him. Groaning lightly, his arms windmilled as his potential attacker swayed around in the corridor with Harry still encased in his strong arms.<p>

"Please stop hugging me," Harry gasped against a flat chest, words muffled by the leather that was making an unpleasant introduction with his mouth. The arms instantly released him and he found himself staring into concerned light brown eyes.

"I'm so sorry! I was just so excited to meet you!" said the teenage boy not much older than himself, with a wide grin he thrust out his hand, which Harry took hesitantly. Hiding a wince as his hand was almost crushed in the too tight grip, he barely had the time to look at the person properly before they were flying down the corridor, dodging several people who merely sidestepped gracefully as they fled past; apart from a furious centaur, who employed a curious shuffle to get out of the way of the barraging teenagers.

They burst into the Hall with all the subtlety of a firework and once again Harry had barely a second to register the stares being directed towards them when he was tugged and unceremoniously pushed onto a surprisingly comfortable wooden bench. Silence reigned for a little while as Harry sat there with his back straight and arms placed gently on the table, refusing to show any of that _weakness_ Professor Theodus had warned him about.

Considering the entire hall had turned in their seats to look at him, Harry's mask of calm was not going to last long. He could just feel the tiny pick axes from the stares working against his own. Laughing brown eyes and tawny hair filled his vision again as his guide took a seat opposite him. Immediately, the noise levels in the hall resumed normality as everyone went back to their food like some huge organism apart from a few people littered around the edges of the hall.

"Hello," the man said pleasantly, clasping his hands lightly together and studying Harry intently. "The name is Reyes Kurasawa."

"Hariel Viridis," replied Harry, a mite stiffly in the presence of this complete stranger. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Oh! A British lad, interesting, lovely accent," he commented and those brown eyes took on a glittering quality, not unlike those of Dumbledore's. Harry smiled thinly in remembrance but said nothing, instead taking the chance to properly look at the man. He was a curious blend of European and Asian. While Harry was a slender and a seductive mixture of beautiful and handsome, this man was purely handsome in a rugged manner. One large hand ruffled at his hair that was styled nicely into a side swept fringe, revealing the Nightshade emblem, which Harry realised without surprise, was considerably darker than his own. Whether that was something to be wary or thankful for, Harry wasn't sure. A loud sigh interrupted his train of thought as Reyes waved a silver fork in front of Harry's face with an exasperated expression.

"Not you as well! I already have one friend who's the silent type and I can barely stand him sometimes." Reyes continued absentmindedly, who thankfully didn't seem to be scrutinising Harry anymore. Harry's heart was still beating a nervous tempo when he caught some blue skinned girls with blonde hair eyeing him appreciatively from the corner of his eye. Eyes flickering around the room, taking in the surroundings quickly, noting with interest that no one seem to be seated in any particular grouping, making the issue of differentiating species all the more difficult. Strangely enough, Harry noted, the teachers sat casually at a round table in the corner of the hall, occasionally surveying the students with appraising eyes. Reyes continued to talk and pile food from the nearby dishes onto Harry's plate, ignoring his fluttering and panicking hands when the food started to spill onto the table. Harry was very quickly realising that Reyes was the type to ramble on for ages until you forcibly stopped them.

"Kurasawa."

"My mother is Japanese and my father is Spanish but he was such a _dick_ –"

"_Kurasawa._"

"So I took my mother's name which sounds much better than Nickolas anyway –"

"_Kurasawa!_"

He looked up startled at Harry who was frantically mopping at the puddle around his overflowing cup with a sodden tissue. Reyes quickly stopped put down the beaker and joined Harry in wiping up the mess he had made, both forgetting that they had magic as he watched Harry's hair fall into his eyes and shoulders start to tremble. Apologising profusely, Reyes steadily grew more concerned as the shaking in Harry's shoulder grew more pronounced. He opened his mouth to apologise again when Harry threw his head back and laughed. Reyes stared with fascinated and bewildered eyes, before settling on a wry smile. Harry's chuckles died down as he stared at the mess that was on his table and rewarded Reyes with another smile of his own.

"So you can smile after all, Hariel."

"Pleased to meet you, Reyes Kurasawa," Harry said sincerely this time. "Call me Harry."

Of course, Harry's good fortune of gaining pleasurable company wasn't going to last because his track record of good luck had never gone particularly smoothly. After a brilliant breakfast of the strangest foods that Harry had ever eaten, which apparently, some of the foods were grown in forests off the main island and tended to by the faeries, Reyes led him to his first class.

Harry kept his head resolutely forward the entire time they walked thought the corridors, determined not to make any enemies on his first official day at Nightshade Academy. However, the teacher of his first class in Magic Manipulation, wandless and wordless magic, Professor Crux seemed determined to make Harry dislike him as much as possible within the shortest amount of time. However in Harry's eyes, Snape still seemed to hold that record. _Professor_ Snape, a voice in his head reminded him, suspiciously sounding like Hermione.

A horde of people stood outside a closed door, waiting for the professor to appear and Harry reminisced on the occasions he had done this at Hogwarts. _ Except there were no leathery wings or tails to watch out for back then_, Harry grumbled to himself when he was cuffed on the back of the head by an overenthusiastic girl with dragon-like wings and scales around the corners of her eyes.

"Careful, Hariel," Reyes said with an amused smile, watching as Harry muttered darkly and rubbed at the sore lump. "You've got to watch out for the Dragon-kind. They've got the toughest wings out of everyone."

"Sometime soon you're going to have to explain all these races to me so I don't embarrass myself somehow," Harry grumbled. He was surprised to see quite a large variation in age within the line up before remembering how Nightshade operated on skill groups rather than age. Instantly reassured that he wasn't going to be the only beginner in any of his classes, Harry gave a sigh of relief. The door suddenly opened and admitted the students into a circular room with tables and chairs on descending platforms, leading towards a central platform on the floor where a man in long dark robes sat in a chair and rested his feet on a table. His eyes remained closed the entire time the students took to take their places. Harry nudged his new companion, trying to ignore the sweet smell that was overpowering his nostrils, and whispered, "Who is he?"

Reyes put down the silver coin he was fiddling with and leant over to whisper in his ear, crinkling his nose in distaste as well. "That's Professor Crux, one of the higher vampire lords in the hierarchy apparently. Fairly powerful as a result of that too. He's rumoured to be a bit… off but his teaching method is supposedly very efficient."

"Thank you for that wonderful summary," a silky voice said, tinged with a hint of poisonous danger. Harry and Reyes jumped back when they found Professor Crux standing right in front of them, both stiffened as the scent of something cloyingly sweet drifted across them.

Harry was instantly certain that this was a powerful man, who possibly lusted after even more, as he stared down at Harry with hungry and appraising eyes. Harry's eyes narrowed at this unwanted interest and clenched his hands underneath the table, determined not to give Professor Crux the satisfaction of seeing him flinch, never mind the fact that he could probably hear the elevation in Harry's heartbeat. The dark haired man suddenly braced both hands on the table and leant over Harry, ignoring the indignant yelp of surprise, until his long black hair swung like a curtain over Harry and he could see nothing but smouldering eyes, pale skin and smirking red lips.

Green eyes narrowed even further until they were nothing but gleaming slits, Harry held his breath to stop breathing in the rather intoxicating scent that he was sure the man was releasing on purpose. One long thin finger lifted Harry's chin and traced his jaw line as Harry threw a worried glance between the hair strands towards Reyes, who was sitting beside him, gazing just as enraptured as the rest of the class, much to his discomfort. Professor Crux opened his mouth in a heady sigh in appreciation of Harry's smooth neck, reverently stroking it softly. A carefully watched nervous gulp and Professor Crux's eyes seemed to intensify with desire; those lips grew steadily closer to Harry neck, who sat frozen with _whatthehelldoIdo_ running through his head repeatedly. Finally, he lifted his own hand and pushed the man's face away firmly, fingers trembling slightly on the soft skin, breaking whatever spell the class was under and instantly earning him the barely hidden ire of the Professor.

"I am sorry, sir," Harry whispered harshly trying to convey as little of the annoyance he actually felt. "But I have no desire of being bitten and used as a blood dispenser, now or anytime soon."

Dimly he was aware of several people around him hissing in distress, causing confusion to rise up in Harry's mind. _Why are _they_ upset?_ Suddenly, Professor Crux stood straight again, his straight black hair swinging into place, a cruel smile twisting the lips that had been so close just before. "Well Mr. Viridis, you are certainly one who knows what one wants," he said stiffly before grabbing Harry's neck in a tight chokehold and whispering into his ear. "_Let's see how you fair this year, Mr Viridis? Hmm? Perhaps you would appreciate some guidance._" The mouth fell open against Harry's ear and he knew as the hot breath rolled over him, the man was resisting the temptation to lick it. Harry's teeth ground together as his shaking hands grasped the wrists of the professor.

"I am quite confident that I will do well with the support of Professor Theodus," Harry replied firmly with a shiver. The grip on his neck tightened momentarily before releasing him altogether. Reyes jumped and made an odd strangled noise in his throat.

"You're a hard one to intimidate."

_It kind of gets dull when there's Voldemort to do that nearly every year, _Harry thought with a snort, but was inwardly pleased at the grudgingly respectful tone in the man's voice, ignoring the incredulous look Reyes was shooting him and the professor.

"Well! Time for the lesson to begin," Professor Crux shouted and paced back towards the platform. Standing at the centre, he continued his lecture. "As you are in my class, that means you have finally bothered to pursue the art of magical manipulation, which I assure you will be every inch as valuable as weapon combat." He levitated a knife before him with a mere twitch of outstretched fingers. "To begin, many ask _what is magic._ Just exactly what is this energy, this force in the world that allows us to do things that normally would never happen? You, the veela with the braid, give me an answer."

The girl started and intoned softly, "I'm not sure, sir."

Professor Crux raised an eyebrow and looked thoroughly disgruntled, as though the girl's calm demeanour personally offended him. "Precisely that, no one is really exactly sure what magic actually is. As far as we can classify it, magic is a form of energy. Therefore—"

"Then what is the point of this discussion," asked a short stocky boy in a nasal voice, throwing a purple rubber ball up and down in the air indifferently. Professor Crux slowly revolved around to face him and the entire class went still in anticipation. Harry turned to Reyes and was slightly disturbed at the look of hungry eagerness in his eyes.

"_Never_ interrupt me," Professor Crux whispered in a chilling voice and a cold smile. He waved his hand towards the boy, and for a split second, the class thought nothing had happened. Then the rubber ball landed in the palm of the boy's hand, but to Harry's horrified curiosity, it didn't _just_ land. As the boy caught it, it instantly melted into a strange substance with a sticky consistency, sliding over his fingers and slowly inching up his arm with purple tendrils.

"Professor?" he asked, frenzied eyes staring at the goo that was climbing up his chest and over his neck. The first signs of panic set in as Harry watched his chest start to heave underneath the liquefied rubber and the breaths exhale in short whimpering bursts.

"Please, Professor, I'm sorry!" pleaded the terrified boy. Frantic fingers clawed at his neck, only for the substance to part around the scrabbling fingers and leave red scratches on his skin instead. The matter never stopped its determined ascent towards the reddening face that was taut with horror. The class watched on in mingled terror and fascination. Professor Crux smiled.

"Profess-!" he yelled this time in a horrified shriek that was cut off as the substance poured in an almost victorious nature into the victim's mouth and up the nostrils, clogging them. A horrible rattling and wheezing noise filled the silent classroom, as he tried to breathe through the little space there was remaining in his mouth.

A sudden total silence engulfed the room as the last of the substance swamped his mouth and nose. The class stared at this sudden excellent study of what would happen when being suffocated. First the eyes started to bulge, his skin slowly started to turn into a rather interesting mauve and his lips were turning blue. All the while, the boy thrashed wildly in his seat, his extremities jerking uncontrollably around his face as he tried to claw out the rubber, muffled screams emitting turned into weak whines and desperate silent calls. Professor Crux watched with malevolent satisfaction as the boy slumped to his knees and started to keel over in a faint, his classmates too shocked to help him. Only then did Professor Crux end the spell with soft laughter and another wave of his hand. The matter emptied itself from the slack mouth and neatly reformed into a solid ball beside the unconscious boy.

"Back to what we were talking about… Magic manipulation is a question of the user's _willpower_. Without focus and willpower, this cannot be possible; instead you could get accidental results such as this." He levitated the knife again before it abruptly shot upwards, embedding itself into the ceiling, where the students watched it warily, small pieces of plaster dropping with blooms of white clouds around the professor.

Harry remained staring at the collapsed boy in astonishment. A teacher had just _tortured_ a student and left him unconscious in the middle of class, yet no one seemed bothered at all. A quick surreptitious glance around the room confirmed this; they were all already paying their utmost attention to the professor again, seemingly completely content with having a passed out student in their midst. Slightly uncomfortable, Harry turned away from the body with a lingering stare.

"You see, manipulation is synonymous with the ability to focus on what you want to happen and devising a way using your will to achieve that focus, using the least amount of power. Many of you are already adept in using magic without a medium such as a wand or staff, which is why you are here. However, just by looking at you and your magical cores, your control over your abilities is not the best." Professor Crux seemed to stare directly at Harry as he said this, causing the boy to growl under his breath in irritation.

"Today we shall start with the most basic of things, levitation, as it is the easiest to imagine. The process of manipulation begins as such. Within every magical creature, there is the magical core where all your abilities lie. Converting the energy from your magical core into an energy that is tangible in the physical world requires visualization, which is much harder than one realises because of the sheer concentration that it requires. And with all the distractions in the world, pure concentration is hard to achieve."

No one looked particularly reassured by this piece of helpful information.

"Now there is an object in front of you," he said as he waved a hand around the room, random items appearing in front of each person. Harry scowled down at his large rock and at the feather that sat in front of Reyes.

"Now, close your eyes," he said and Harry did so grudgingly, unpleasantly reminded of those horrific Occlumency lessons with Snape, "and envision a great sphere within you, depending on our magical attributes it will take on certain characteristics on its own. Do not force it; it will come naturally to you."

Harry breathed slowly and evenly, eventually calming his mind that was still spinning over his encounter with the overeager vampire and overconfident boy. It was easy to recall how his magical core looked, what with the forced vision of it that was induced by the potion Selvor had kindly given him, leaving that unforgettably painful impression of it. His magical core was distinctly fiery in nature, glowed a sweltering red and yellow with blue sparks of energy flickering across the surface frequently. From it, tendrils of energy swirled outwards before quickly being retracted backwards when Harry smoothed the surface over mentally as he settled calmly in his mindscape.

A soft voice broke into his thoughts. "Now imagine a channel, a stream or link flowing from the core, into your physical body and down your arm towards you hand."

Harry imagined a long thick vein bursting out of the core triumphantly and directed it into his arm, pulsing quickly with energy.

"Now open your eyes, focus on the object and fill yourself with the intent of willing it to rise. Envision it _slowly_ lifting into the air, let it hover and then lower it _gently_."

He opened his eyes and focused hard on the rock before him, let the magic flow steadily down his arm and into the rock. _Wingardium Leviosa,_ he thought silently and grinned triumphantly as it began to float into the air right before his face.

"No."

Harry frowned and let the rock drop back onto the table with a dull thud as the looming presence of Professor Crux reappeared in front of him. This time, he had a thoughtful frown of his own as he stared down at Harry and the rock.

"What do you mean 'no'… sir?"

Long thin fingers picked up the rock, as he spoke quietly, "You were using an incantation weren't you?"

"_Wingardium Leviosa_, sir. I was thinking of it."

Professor Crux stopped fiddling with the stone and set it down in front of Harry. "Make another attempt, without thinking off the incantation," he commanded.

Harry frown deepened with worry but did as the man asked, jerking backwards in surprise when the rock skyrocketed upwards, only to be snatched by the pale hand again.

"What did I do wrong?"

"You are limiting yourself and your expectations with incantations. Seeing these incantations and the associated result has created expectations in what should happen, however when you do not use a spell, you are unsure of the result thereby creating unconscious limitations. Your magic goes slightly haywire due to your sudden lack of focus and intention. Your control over magic is admirable. Your control over _yourself_ is not."

"I think… I understand," answered Harry hesitantly. Indeed when he was asked to summon the book at Selvor's shop, he had been thinking of what should happen when using _Accio._ Looking back up at the man, Harry was suddenly wary of the abruptly helpful nature in his advice.

Professor Crux dropped the stone dispassionately. "By limiting yourself to the expected end result from a spell, you are not allowing yourself to be free in what magic can accomplish. Ideally, magic is as versatile as your imagination. You need to have confidence in what you do. Now, to the centre of the class, please." He swished back to the centre with Harry trailing nervously after him, already drawing the unwanted attention of the class again.

Professor Crux suddenly produced a cane and directed Harry to stand in the centre of the circle with a smart rap against the stone floor. "I want you to levitate this egg," he ordered, pointing towards a carton of eggs lying on the table. A sudden smirk filled the man's face and Harry's suspicion about the advice rang true.

"Each egg you break will earn you a set of punishments from me."

Five shattered eggs later and frustration was reaching lethal levels within Harry. Face flushed with anger and annoyance, he once again attempted to lower the egg softly onto the table. He had finally managed to _lift _the egg, after two failed attempts, which resulted in yolk dripping off the ceiling, but putting the object down still proved difficult, as he couldn't let it merely drop. Breathing deeply, he tried to calm himself down, for it seemed the more blood that rushed to his face, the more excited the professor got.

"_Control_, Viridis," the man said with vindictive glee, circling Harry slowly like a starving jackal as his red eyes bored into Harry's. "Without control, there is no magic; just a fountain of magical _vomit_."

Harry growled as he felt the eyes of the class rest solidly on him. He lifted his hand to perform the simple spell_,_allowing the magic to flow from his core and down into his arm when Professor Crux rapped on his knuckles with his cane. Harry watched the egg fall to its doom despondently, feeling his sanity crack a little along with it.

"No, Viridis," Professor Crux said and he smiled with an odd glint in his eyes, revealing his lengthened canines. "Like this."

He raised a hand towards Harry who warily backed away and half-heartedly raised an arm to block whatever unknown spell was coming. However, he wasn't expecting an Unforgivable to be shot his way.

"_Crucio!"_

Harry's mouth dropped open in a short scream as he writhed on the cold stone floor. Every single sensation and scent sharpened with the sudden _pleasure _that rolled in crashing waves through his body, the feeling of grit underneath his fingers and his underwear sliding against his sudden erection enhanced to a painful degree. A litany of breathless, almost unintelligible curses left Harry's mouth. With the unfortunately high frequency of pain in Harry's life, it had allowed him to build a certain tolerance against it. However, arousal to this level quickly caused Harry's defences to buckle and shatter.

Professor Crux's satisfied smirk swam into view above him and Harry snapped his mouth shut, cutting off the desperate whimpers and pants to direct confused eyes at the man who stopped the spell with another lazy flick of his hand. Harry let out an explosive breath as he slumped, relaxing his tense exhausted muscles. Professor Crux dragged the end of the cane against the floor, the discordant sound grating against Harry's ears before it was lifted and tapped lightly against his flushed cheek.

"What a lewd display," Professor Crux whispered so only Harry could hear in an amusedly thoughtful tone. He garbled something under his breath in exhaustion and barely heard the professor continue the lecture, stepping silently around his body.

"As you well know, the Cruciatus Curse promotes pain by manipulating the nervous system in the body to relay the message of intense pain to the brain. However, the purpose of this class is not only to master spells without the use of a focus, but to also recognise when a spell can be manipulated. As you saw, the Cruciatus did not give pain, but in fact the opposite," he lectured, gesturing briefly towards Harry.

"All spells begin with a particular intent, how it works and a particular result, before it is labelled. In this case, the Cruciatus Curse has been manipulated with a new intent and given a new result but the method works the same way. Visualisation of some things are impossible, so particular spells can be used in conjunction to better focus the intent. In this case; the manipulation of a body's nervous system to feel pleasure."

The class shifted nervously under Professor Crux's gaze before the sound of wind chimes filled the room. "Well. Class dismissed."

Harry watched the students rush out the door in a flurry, followed by Professor Crux in a sedate pace tapping his cane rhythmically against the floor. From the corner of his eye, Harry watched Reyes jump energetically down the steps towards him with another man, trying to regain some semblance of strength in his knees.

"Wow, that was hilarious," Reyes commented as he squatted happily beside Harry's head, bouncing up and down on his heels.

Harry sent him a scathing look and groaned. "I'm glad you found it funny. It'd be great if you could help me up though. I feel like my bones have been vanished."

"You had it coming though. Seriously, what kind of parents did you have to name you Hariel?" commented the stranger with braided blond hair, looking like a more intimidating version of Selvor as he stared down at Harry with a blank expression on his face.

Harry ignored all this in favour of asking more questions to appease the rising suspicion within him. "What do you mean?"

The vacant features flashed into confusion for a while before smoothing again. "Don't you know? Hariel is Elvish for 'The Chosen One'. Anyone with a name like that would be a target for harassment."

Harry tried to prevent his face from looking like someone had just told him Santa Claus was a serial killer as he rolled over on the stone floor and grunted at the dust. Professor Theodus was going to die, right after Harry when finds out just what is bothering him.

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><p><em>AN: Sincere thanks to Hidden In White Light for agreeing to be the Beta-reader for this chapter~_

**_Please leave a review if you have the time to! Hearing from you guys is the greatest reward I could receive._**

**_24/10/2012 - _**_Hello all! I have noticed that people actually have been reading and reviewing this story, which is wonderful news! **Don't worry, I'm not discontinuing. **Many have asked when I will be next updating. The final year of high school has got to be the most gruelling thing when it comes to exams which has meant that I haven't really been able to write._**_ However, in two weeks time, high school life will officially be over for me, so expect a chapter in approximately three weeks!_**


	7. Hell in High Heels

**A/N**: Okay well, I lied, it wasn't 2 to 3 weeks. More like...a month and a half. And my last chapter was a year ago, oh dear god please don't kill me. I had good reason though! In other news, I've finished high school, governmental human services are forcing me to find a full time job within the two weeks before university, university also sounds terrifying. **Does anyone have any tips on looking for jobs?** T_T

**Thanks for the reviews last chapter, kept me alive they did**! Especially during the really horrible periods. Sigh. Sorry to my anon reviewers that I can't reply to you guys, but as you can see I am back in action.

**Additional Note**: Reyes is a name of Spanish origins and pronounced Reh – ez.

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Hell in High Heels<strong>

Harry hurriedly hobbled down the corridors on weak legs, supported by an over energetic Reyes Kurasawa and followed by his blond friend at a much more sedate pace. He grouched quietly under his breath about the unfairness of obnoxious professors, quite certain that Reyes could hear him if the way his facial expression twitched at a particularly foul insult was any indication.

"So who's your friend, Reyes?" Harry asked with a toss of his head towards the man that seemed determined to ignore them, surreptitiously examining the graceful gait and the unrelenting blank stare in his direction from crystalline eyes.

"Oh? Meet the resident silent grump, Elias Lavotte. Don't worry about him, he's a bit of an uptight bastard but he'll loosen up after a while," Reyes said while grinning at Elias happily. In Harry's opinion, the returned glare was anything but "loose". However despite his unfamiliarity with the man, Elias' continuous silence and presence was innately reassuring; the contrast against the hectic day was somewhat soothing.

"Right," Harry muttered and was shuffled into another classroom enthusiastically. He shivered as the overwhelming sense of depression swept over him like an unearthly plague. The oppressive darkness of the room seemed to make it even smaller as the door shut behind him slowly, leaving outside what seemed to be left of Harry's sanity reserve for the day. _Wonderful_, Harry thought dryly, walking down the narrow aisles lined by candles that barely lit up the threadbare carpet, darkened from the flying soot of the fireplace. Dust flew up from his careful steps and he sneezed in distaste. Taking a seat, Reyes and Elias on either side of him, he was at least partially reassured of his safety when a strange cloaked man swept among the class like a wintry breath over a dying landscape.

His first words were, "More than half of you will fail this class."

Harry's eyebrow shot upwards and he felt rather than heard, Reyes snort at the statement. They all surveyed the diminutive man standing at the front with a dubious stare. Yet those who had returned from Professor Crux's class maintained a steady vigilance, in case this was another slightly psychotic man with a sadistic predisposition about to prey on some unsuspecting victim.

"Welcome to this year's lesson of Enchantment. I am Professor Dirk," stated the low voice from beneath the hood sounding decidedly sane and calm. He lowered the hood to reveal a receding hairline, large spectacles and a drooping moustache that gave him the unflattering look of a despondent walrus. Overall, he gave the impression of a quiet unassuming man who could not possibly survive in the slightly chaotic environment that was Nightshade Academy. A flurry of confusion fluttered about the room, students turning to one another to discuss his unusual presence.

"Do you know him?" Harry asked, leaning over discreetly.

Reyes gave a perplexed shrug and cocked his head to the side to survey the man better, "No actually, I've heard of Professor Dirk before, but there are so many teachers around this school that you tend to lose track of them quickly unless they have a particular thing out for you. Like Professor Crux," He added with a cheeky grin.

Harry decided not to rise to the taunt and focused on the new puzzle instead. All of a sudden, Professor Dirk smiled, causing the ridiculous moustache to wriggle and swirled the cloak off his shoulders, and somewhere in between the whirling of the fabric, the features of the man melted and dissolved to reveal the softer angles of a rather pretty woman. Brown curled locks of hair bounced around the refined features, and the drab rags turned into a strange sleeveless garment with many collars and belts; the effects building up to a most startling transformation.

"That was your first example of what exactly enchanting can do," she said softly, to the general amazement of the class as she let the cloak slip from her slim fingers onto a high backed leather chair. "This cloak although ordinary by nature, is enchanted to hide and warp the features of its wearer through the nature of the individual fibres. We will be covering more of that next lesson."

Harry straightened his back and gazed curiously at the cloak. Having one of those in addition to his Invisibility cloak would be extremely useful in the case of a sticky situation, which in Harry's opinion; his entire life would be termed just that.

Professor Dirk walked over to one of the candles by her foot and snuffed it out, instantly the gloom and darkness of the room dispelled as if a miniature sun had exploded in the centre of the room, driving away the shadows into the corners. Simultaneous groans echoed around the room at the sudden cruel exposure to the light. "This candle is another example of an enchanted object. When it is lit, it draws out the light out of the room into its flame and keeps it burning for longer. If you inspect this closely, you would see that there are runes carved into the wax to ensure the wax can withstand the containment of power."

Harry blinked the dancing colours out of his eyes, finally able to take in the high arched windows and lush furnishings when the illusion of a scruffy fireplace disappeared with the extinguishing of another candle.

"Enchanting is essentially the same as any influential magic performed on an object, however this magic must be anchored to the object so it can perform the intent of the wielder for an extended amount of time. Constantly feeding your power into a spell is draining, but enchanting something quickly and anchoring the required magic to an object is much less tiring," she continued, walking about the room, snuffing out more candles and tipping over vases so they crashed to the floor; each time some part of the room warped into its original state.

"I could direct my power into a fire for it to burn forevermore, but simply enchanting the wood to continuously reconstruct itself would be by far easier. Of course, the enchantment would fade eventually, however anything after that becomes a simple matter of renewing it. Some people would consider enchanting to be a weak subject as it is not purely reliant on power. It helps if you have it, but ultimately to do well in enchantment, one must have _brains_ and the ability to use it, to fully utilise the versatility of pure magic. Considering Nightshade's standard requirement and recruitment techniques, at least half of you will not succeed in this class," she said in one of the most matter of fact tone Harry had heard since Hermione had lectured him on studying.

Harry grimaced as his friends and classmates bristled in indignation.

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><p>"She really doesn't mince her words does she?" Reyes remarked as he folded his arms behind his head. The three of them made their way briskly back to the Main Hall for lunch, contemplating their latest lesson and eager for a scrumptious lunch of exotic foods. "Though that trick with the cloak; pretty awesome."<p>

"Hmm," Harry agreed. The lesson had been extremely illuminating and thankfully very much theory based. Up until now, Harry had no idea of the relevance of materials and spells; natural fibres and metals took to spells well but magic had a tendency to roll off synthetic cloths like water. That _would_ explain the fashion sense in the magical world. His head felt pleasantly packed with information and budding ideas buzzed around noisily in his mind.

"It was a productive lesson. I hope it will come to use in the future," Elias said gently and Harry was amazed to hear the quiet man speak again.

"Hey! You're finally talking again. I swear you barely ever go over six words a day with me. This must be a new record!" Reyes said, wrapping one arm around Elias' reluctant shoulder and crushing him playfully.

Harry watched on, pleased that his new friends were quite amiable when he suddenly felt someone standing behind his right shoulder.

"Yes, they are a rather strange pair aren't they? Although I believe their personalities mesh with yours quite nicely. They'll make worthy companions."

He jumped at the weight of a hand being settled onto his shoulder and twisted to find Professor Theodus staring across at the two, completely missing Reyes' terrified twitch and the tiny smile on the edge of Elias' lips.

"Professor?"

"A word, if you please Hariel," Professor Theodus replied, the expression he wore slightly stilted, lips pressed together a little firmly and furrows between the brows a little too pronounced. Leading a reluctant Harry away from the other two, he pushed through the stream of people who constantly buffeted against them before gesturing to a little alcove in the wall.

Harry stared at the small space available, wholly unimpressed and uncomfortably reminded of his encounter with Rita Skeeter in fourth year inside the broom closet. "You can't be serious."

Having no patience in trying to coerce Harry with honeyed words of conviction; Professor Theodus roughly prodded Harry into the space irritably, ignoring the yelps of pain as his sharp black nails scraped against the delicate pale skin. Swamped in incredible confusion, Harry retreated into the alcove and was squished against the side by Professor Theodus' larger girth.

"Seriously, Professor, this is just ridiculous-"

"I wish to warn you away from Professor Crux. That despicable vampire," he spat, eyes alight and hands gesturing sharply with emotion, "is the very personification of trouble and mayhem itself. I could not caution you earlier as Headmistress Merkovich deliberately stopped me from doing so."

"What is so bad about Professor Crux? I mean, apart from the fact that he has a seriously sadistic disposition?

"Let's just say that anyone who has managed to get his attention regrets it afterwards," Professor Theodus hissed, purple eyes gleaming and burning in the darkness with an intensity that Harry had not noticed before. "The community of Nightshade is tight knit and we are fiercely loyal to one another against the outside world, but within….Professor Crux tends to toe the boundaries, and when I say toe, I mean fly past, naked and screaming without a care in the world."

Harry's eyes widened and glanced downwards guiltily with a slight groan before tugging at a lock of his hair nervously. The professor sucked in an exasperated breath. "What did you do?"

"Nothing-" Harry began in half-hearted protest but was broken off by the horrifyingly familiar presence of Professor Crux standing right behind him, squashing the three of them together in the alcove in a highly unpleasant sandwich. He was suddenly sorely tempted to throw his hand backwards and cast a rather nasty castration curse but Professor Theodus' look of consternation stopped him.

"Oh, it was _hardly_ 'nothing'," drawled the low voice in his ear, sounding unpleasantly amused. "I haven't had a show that beautiful in many years. _Brother,_ you should have seen him writhe on the floor in pleasure. But what is this? You shouldn't talk about others in secret you know, that would be rude. Although, now I am here, feel free to speak. What wonderful things about me have you been telling Mr Viridis?"

Harry flushed and looked away defiantly before one word caught his ear. _Brother? _He wondered in silent confusion. Twisting around to stare at the both of them, he could not deny the similarities they shared. The same aristocratic nose, the elegant high cheekbones and facial structure…However the differences in their hair colour and eyes were just too hard to ignore. Professor Theodus' angry eyes, normally playful but kind were a stark contrast to Professor Crux's cold and cruel sparkling depths.

"_Half-_brother, _Demetrius_, it seems I must often remind you. I'm sure you have somewhere else to be, so why don't you leave me and my charge _alone_," Professor Theodus tersely said, drawing Harry closer into his chest with a suddenly clawed hand, ignoring the muffled protest. Another cold hand trailed up and down Harry's neck from behind, fingers running lightly over the pulse point. Sugary sweetness that reminded him of melting marshmallows in hot chocolate started to infuse his nostrils again, coaxing him into relaxing against the wall of muscle behind him, causing his eyelids to droop down until Professor Theodus' sharp black nails pressed into his shoulders again with small pinpricks of pain.

"Stop," interjected Professor Theodus furiously, slapping the hand away from Harry's neck which instantly leapt up to tousle the messy black hair instead. It lazily massaged his scalp and Harry resisted the urge jump away from it, knowing it would only make the dangerous vampire all the more furious. That, and the gentle movement accompanied with that sweet scent, was causing him to become very comfortable, dangerously so.

"But he's so adorable, brother," Professor Crux said, grinning at Professor Theodus' unhappy expression. A red tongue slid across his canines slowly, as if he was already relishing the taste of Harry's blood. "Share him with me, brother. Pretty please?"

"Half-brother, Demetrius!" roared Professor Theodus and took a step towards Professor Crux, having forgotten the fact that Harry was still lodged in between them. "For Odin's sake, what will it take for you to remember that? And I will not 'share' him! He is not a possession nor is he 'mine'! You should not have sent one of your envoys to spy on him, it was _not_ welcome."

"He's fine isn't he? Not a hair harmed. Then there's no problem, is there, _Alexander, brother dear_."

The vampire laughed and wrapped an arm around the squirming boy, drawing him into a mockery of an embrace for Harry felt more trapped and panicky rather than soothed. A smooth cheek rubbed against his and he felt the low voice rumble through him, "He's just lovely, I just want a taste. Just a _tiny_ taste, brother…." The voice grew huskier and more excited to Harry's rising concern. The hands that were previously clasped around his chest rose and caressed his neck with painful intimacy, running over the hollow at the base of his throat lightly as the other hand jerked his head backwards by the hair. Feeling immensely vulnerable and slightly panicky as he felt the hot breath roll over his neck, he tugged on Professor Theodus' robes insistently who seemed to have turned frozen in silent rage. Harry's eyes watched in growing displeasure as Professor Crux leaned over him, glittering eyes trained continuously on Professor Theodus' snarling expression, in a foiled attempt to steal a kiss as the lithe body twisted itself out of both men's holds.

"I think that has gone on long enough," Harry interjected in a manner that did not reflect the frantic beating of his heart, never minding the fact the vampire could probably hear it in this proximity. The two men stood side by side and stared down at him, looking eerily similar in stature and expressions of mild surprise as if they had forgotten he was there. "I'm sensing there's unresolved business here which I do not want to get into. I'm not an object to use as a focus for your rivalries. I had enough of that back home. Whatever the problem is, you're both adults. I think you should have enough sense to talk it through."

He tried to escape before he got too irritated but Professor Theodus' hand snatched his wrist tightly. Eyes not leaving the excited vampire who had ignored his entire speech and seemed permanently fixated on Harry's mouth and neck, Professor Theodus gave his last warning to Harry and pressed the wriggling vampire against the wall roughly with his hand.

"Don't let him bite you. Ever. Do you understand me Harry," he snarled into Professor Crux's face even as he directed his words to Harry. "You have full permission from me to defend yourself in anyway necessary against any vampire."

"…Yes, sir," Harry replied, confusion preventing him from saying anything else. He darted out of the alcove and back into safety with his new companions who had waited by the entrance of the Hall. He looked back briefly, but both men had already disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Reyes asked looking slightly frazzled, pushing Harry down into a seat next to him at the corner of the Hall. Elias sat down, immediately started to pile food onto his plate and began to eat without saying a word. Harry sighed at Reyes' question, having already started to put it behind him.

"Professor Theodus wanted a word with me."

Reyes' started to frantically pile mashed potato into Harry's teacup. "What's your connection with him?" He asked in a slightly higher voice.

"He's sort of my mentor. Why?"

"That man is _terrifying_," he stressed to Harry, an earnest expression splashed across his face. "He was the one to pick me up to get here right? I don't know what I did wrong, but after five minutes, _he tied me to the front of the train. _And left me there!"

Harry raised an eyebrow in amusement. "So that was you who he told me about? He said it was because you talked too much."

Reyes frowned, "Now that's just mean. Anyway, it's high time that you received a lesson on all the people here so you don't accidently insult someone and end up dead within a week because that would be a terrible mess for all of us; especially since we're the ones who would have to clean up." He cracked his knuckles and pointed to a group sitting right in front of them. Harry straightened up in his seat but continued to spoon soup into his mouth. Staying alive seemed like a very good objective.

"Right so you see dragon wings and scales around their eyes, then you've got a Dragon-kind on your hands. Extremely good eyesight and their eyes change colour depending on what kind of mood they're in. You don't want to make them angry, coz they sprout a tail to fly around and throw these streams of fire from their hands. They _hurt._ Trust me, I would know. Plus the red eyes are intimidating as hell. Plus they've got the strongest hold on ritualistic magic among all the races. Coupling that with their famous stubbornness, it's no wonder they get into so much trouble all the time."

Elias snorted delicately.

Shooting him a disgruntled look Reyes continued his impromptu lecture. "Right to the next of them," he continued, waving a fork at some rowdy blue skinned girls snarling at others. "Those are the nymphs as you can tell by their coloured skin. Now the colour reveals their elemental powers so you get red skin, green skin and blue skin for fire, earth and water respectively. They're usually kind of mellow but pack a punch in their elements if you get them angry like they are now. I think one of the faeries pissed them off."

"Okay, there you have the faeries with the fancy wings. They're pretty much like basic humans but prettier than normal, with this irritating ability to hypnotise you and have the ability to fly. Their flight speeds are one of the fastest out of all the races, although sometimes the Dragon-kind outflies them. They're always having competitions on one of the islands. If you're ever on a broom, they're like bludgers coming at you."

Harry brightened at the mention of Quidditch, thinking of his treasured Firebolt stashed in his room and the urge to skim over the waves. "Is there any chance I'll be able to play Quidditch one day here?"

Reyes smirked, "Of course, we have a whole island dedicated to the sport, and another for Quodpot, since the Americans prefer it."

The mouth fell open, "Brilliant."

"Anyway, getting back to the point. You've got the vampires," Reyes said, pointing to Professor Crux who was back at the front of the Hall surrounded by a ring of other vampires. The man turned around and raised a wine glass at Harry, who mentally shuddered in response to the unwanted greeting. "Er. Well, they're pale and like to drink blood…which is probably what Professor Crux is drinking at the moment," he continued rather redundantly. "That rubbish on sunlight and garlic is ridiculous, I'm pretty sure they just don't like the smell. But the muggles did get a couple of things right, but then again it's pretty much common sense. You decapitate them. They die. You stab them through the heart. They die. The hardest part is getting them to stand still long enough. Pure running water can slow them for a while but all the vampires here are too strong to be really affected by that. Although some species of vampires, particularly the Eastern European strains have a weakness against silver."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Elias answered for him instead. "For some reason, their biological make up is different and contact with silver breaks them down on a molecular level, much like an acid."

Reyes nodded eagerly, "Extremely advanced sight, smell, hearing and speed, makes their hunting a lot easier; the perfect predator really. Feeding on the students is a strict rule though. Vampires have this venom in their teeth that they can release, it can either make you feel real good or erase your memory completely. That's why each vampire either has a muggle somewhere here to feed on or a mate."

"Probably not helping the Bermuda Triangle myths," Harry muttered, suddenly understanding Professor Theodus' barely restrained panic and anger. If the hero of the Wizarding world suddenly lost his memories and become enslaved to a vampire especially to one as powerful as Professor Crux, the British community would be in a complete outrage if they ever found out, demanding their 'saviour' and 'Chosen One' back, probably instigating another war along with the present. Possibly to international proportions.

"Probably not," he agreed. "Then you get the incubi and succubi. Steer clear of them, unless of course it's Professor Theodus who seems to be covering your back. They're not really as much fighters as the Dragon-kind or the vampires, but they're a class of their own when it comes to mind tricks and mixing magic with it. If you're on their list of people they don't like, you won't notice until you're dead; but that doesn't happen often. They like to mix around with the other races. I'm sure you already know how they feed off sex. Professor Theodus teaches their main class. I don't really want to think about what goes on in there."

"Wonderful mental image. Thank you, Reyes," Harry sighed, feeling mildly put off his soup now and started on an exotic fruit instead.

"You're welcome," he replied in all seriousness before suddenly puffing out his chest. "Then you have werewolves. Better sight, smell and hearing like our wolf counterparts. We're also a fair deal faster than some of the others but not in the same league as the vampires. It's still a bit irritating to have the amount of colour you can see to be reduced when you morph, but eh, we're still pretty cool."

"Do you take Wolfsbane?" Harry asked cautiously. Reyes nearly fell off his seat at this question and stared at him incredulously.

"What no! No, at Nightshade all werewolves undergo this regime where we learn to control the wolf side of us, as cheesy as that sounds. It's basically like our animagus forms now since we can't actually be animagi."

"Interesting…Why is this not revealed to the rest of werewolf community?"

"Well it's actually no secret, it's just supremely difficult to achieve really. We get a lot of extra help here from other werewolves with more experience."

Harry thought of Remus and his shabby patchwork clothes, feeling the sharp loss of both Remus and Sirius. What he had left behind, his friends and new family, a familiarity of a world that he had only been introduced to 5 years before seemed to rise up again within him. Harry pursed his lips and refused to think of it any further, after all he knew in his heart he had done the right thing.

Elias put down his napkin, interrupting Harry's depressive thoughts. "Finally, you have the Elven race. We possess keener eyesight and hearing. We are usually of lighter build and are at home in natural woodlands. By looking at our ears, you can clearly tell us apart. But don't touch them, they are extremely sensitive. To do so without permission from an Elf is akin to a death sentence in some parts of the world."

Harry nodded, grateful for Elias and Reyes going out of their way to ensure he didn't accidently kill himself within the first week of school. However, a group of people in the other corner of the Hall caught his attention with their posture. Huddled together, with their backs facing the wall and hostile expressions on every single face, Harry was slightly reminded of a very angry flock of penguins.

"You haven't told me about them," Harry said, jerking his head in the group's direction, not wanting to attract their attention.

"Oh. They're the Lethifolds. No one really talks to them much; they're the type to keep to themselves too. Lethifolds are basically the humanoid versions of Dementors. Because they have the same depressive powers and the ability to suck your soul, means that they are avoided by most of the other races like the plague. To hunt, they turn into these black cloaks that smother you and digest you all at once; it's kind of icky to think about at lunch. I'm not really certain what or who they're feeding on while they're here actually."

"It sounds like there's some prejudice running around," Harry said mildly, quirking an eyebrow at his seemingly open-minded companion. "I mean everyone has to eat to survive. Some have just different dietary requirements like the vampires."

Reyes looked slightly surprised, "I never thought of it that way, but yes I'd guess so. I think it's just really the fact that they could potentially eat _us._"

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly, having been on the wrong side of prejudice too many times to count. These Lethifolds were clearly a race like any other; if they kept to themselves, it was probably because no one communicated with them in the first place, after all Ethan Elkasir did not seem evil overall, except for a nasty tendency to kiss unsuspecting victims. Harry suddenly slapped a hand to his face and groaned, why hadn't this stroke of maturity been born inside the walls of Hogwarts? Slytherin may have been much more tolerable with this new found understanding.

The sound of wind chimes floated around the air once more and the next thing he knew, Elias was gently tugging on his wrist.

"Come on, Hariel. Time for class," Elias said to the wide-eyed boy still seated on the bench. Harry stared up at him, cocking his head to the side in contemplation as he rose. It was good to know that Elias, despite his rather silent and stand-offish exterior, wasn't entirely cold.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately for Harry, Weapons and Combat was the only lesson he did not share with Elias and Reyes, as they had already moved up into the advanced classes (as had practically the entire school). They had left him, after escorting him across a bridge to another small island, standing in the middle of a clearing in the forest.<p>

"Wait, are you sure the class is supposed to come here?" he had asked, running after the two retreating figures.

"Oh yes," Reyes answered, a wide grin playing on his mouth as he flipped a silver coin into the air repeatedly. "It's been a long standing tradition, leaving the newbies until they go spare. It's hilarious."

Elias suddenly raised his hand and waved to someone behind Harry. He whipped around in equal amounts of anticipation and wariness to greet his professor, only to be met a never-ending blanket of trees.

"Wha-?" he started to say and turned back towards the pair, yet found himself staring at trees. The _exact_ same trees that seemed to be surrounding him on all fronts. Walking off into the forest, in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of getting mobbed in the open by anything, he was startled to find himself walking straight back into the clearing. "Well, bollocks."

Nervously, Harry bounced on the balls of his feet, feeling the floor spongy from grass sink and rise under his feet. Just as he did so, gnarled roots shot out of the ground in an explosion of dust and debris, sending Harry flying backwards in shock to avoid the violent growth. Alarm and adrenaline pumped through his veins like a badly administered IV drip and instantly he was _aware,_ of the lack of natural birdsong, the humidity of the air as it passed through his lungs, the gritty sensation of dust between his fingers, the smell of sweat and earth and most importantly, the disgruntled grumble of the ground.

Quickly scrabbling up, he looked around him just in time to watch the roots sink back into the floor and out of sight. Sinking into a crouching stance wearily, Harry slinked around the clearing watching out and feeling for any sign of movement. With a cut-off gasp, he snapped his head backwards to prevent a thin root from snagging his neck and threw himself sideways to avoid the other coiling for his shoulder. Falling quickly into a dance of avoidance accompanied by the wonderful soundtrack of repeated swearing, Harry was quickly tiring at evading what seemed to be roots that were determined to clamp him to the ground.

Panting harshly and eyes darting furiously, he cursed when one thin tendril lightly sliced his cheek and hurtled towards the line of trees. Fraught with confusion, he quickly scaled the tree with a skill born from too many escapes from Aunt Marge's bulldog before he felt something clamp around his ankle.

_Oh. Well that's not good._

Barely able to form another thought, he suddenly found himself screaming and flying backwards through the air in an uncontrolled cartwheel, limbs flailing madly before crashing down into the untender embrace of the branches of another tree. Thin boughs snapped under his weight with unhappy cracks and the air seemed to pass him by in a blur of blue sky and greenery.

Harry let out a pained wheeze as a multitude of leaves fluttered around him, limbs askew and looking more than a little dishevelled from the impromptu escape session.

"Well, hello," said a voice above him, and in Harry's shock, nearly slid off the bough of branches he was lying on. Scrabbling frantically for purchase once more, his heart had lodged itself in his throat.

"Hi," Harry said simply, staring up at the figure which took a swig from a hip flask, leaning leisurely against the trunk. The man swayed as he clambered down the branches, slipping occasionally until he landed heavy footed next to Harry, who glanced at it uncertainly when the branch shuddered under their weight. The stink of alcohol wafted over as the breeze picked up around them both, tossing the ends of their coats into the air playfully. They stared at each other without saying another word, both eyes dragging over each other's bodies taking in every single possible detail.

"Sir?"

"I'm drunk."

"I can tell, sir."

The man turned in his direction and surveyed him with a bloodshot eye. "I'm not sure I like you."

"That's alright, I'm not sure I like you either, sir," Harry said, wrinkling his nose at the smell. The man huffed and slid down the trunk of the tree with ease, leaving Harry sitting in the tree looking lost and bewildered.

"Well? You going to stay up there all day? Just jump down, I'll catch you!" he said,

"Sir, with all due respect-"

"I waved Respect goodbye a long time ago, don't bring her up. Merlin, she _nagged._"

Harry wasn't quite sure whether or not his new professor was as loony as he made himself out to be, but the impression of roaring hallucinating drunkard just strengthened when he engaged in a one sided conversation with a tree. He decided jumping down would be a very bad idea.

"-you have the most lovely leaves out of all of these trees don't you? I'm sure you're very proud of them, just look at the way they gleam in the sunlight. It's so green. I love green. Your eyes are green."

Harry snapped out of his internal war over whether just to high-tail it out of here at the sudden declaration. "Good observation, sir," he said finally after a long pause.

Thick dark brows quirked together a little before the furrow was smoothed out once more. "What are you still doing up there, come _down_. Good god, you're as skittish as cat. You're _not_ a cat are you? I'm allergic."

Harry hesitatingly shimmied down the tree gracefully, gingerly trying to slip down and reach the next branch that would finally set him on the floor before an impatient hand grabbed him by scruff of his neck.

"That took you long enough. You've got good skills in climbing and decent instincts which means good reactionary speed. That's obvious enough, but you suck horrendously at speed in recognition and strength," the man grunted. He lifted Harry's sleeve in a ginger pinch and peered hazily at him after letting it drop back down. "Not enough muscle. Probably not enough stamina either, at least not the standard that you need to be. You're going to need a lot of damn work, kid."

Harry took this news well enough, knowing it was hardly much of a surprise for himself but was impressed by the way the man had gleaned that from him after a single drunk and swaying glance.

"We'll start off building your strengths, which would be speed and agility. We get those muscles going while you practice that and then incorporate core strengths to help your stamina and so on."

Wow, the man was redeeming himself as a competent teacher in Harry's eyes at least.

"Which means from now on, you'll be wearing these." And from behind his back, he held out a _terrifying_ pair of _black, high heel stilettos._

* * *

><p>Blond hair escaped the loose braid that it had been tied in and mixed in with the filthy ground, looking distinctly out of place. White robes that were pristine beforehand rustled loudly in the darkness until they turned grey with flying dust. A mouth opened to drag oxygen that was not present; leaving only choked rattling breath while slender hands clutched at his throat. Blue eyes wide and dilated to their fullest extent, they darted wildly about to see his attackers from his position on the floor. Four sets of impassive eyes ignored the thrashing of the dying man, waiting for the leader to wring out the truth.<p>

"Give it to us, Selvor Mikados, and _perhaps_ we shall be lenient."

A booted foot nudged the chest of the blond elf, rolling him onto his back. Selvor blinked his eyes blearily, trying to wash away the dust that had fallen into his eyes to see the five black figures obscuring the starry sky above him. Air was immediately returned to him, and his constricting lungs expanded thankfully with painfully large gasps that shook his frame. His attackers closed in a tight ring around him, their magic oppressing down on him heavily restraining the movement of his limbs and making it impossible for him to escape.

"Viridis' blood, we know you would have taken some. You take some from every customer you receive, whether they know it or not. Give it to us, Selvor Mikados," crooned the voice, laced with hypnotic suggestion. To the attackers' surprise, broken haggard laughs began to fall from chapped lips and light blue eyes stared angrily into the darkness.

"Well, is it not so _unfortunate, _that for Hariel Viridis, I made that one exception? There is no blood! Whatever you have prepared for him, it will have been in vain," Selvor gasped. The calm aura surrounding the speaker suddenly vanished and a hand seized the Selvor's collar roughly. Despite their close proximity, he still could not discern the features from the shadows.

"We shall see in time. However, you perhaps, will not have the luxury to do so," whispered the voice, all semblance of patience disappearing and Selvor was dropped back onto the floor, waves of crushing magic pounding into his body once more, increasing the gravitation around him to incredible amounts. He felt several ribs snap and puncture his lung, and the blood in his body collecting closer to the floor before the attackers slowly drifted away like wraiths. An intense headache suddenly sprouted between his eyes and his organs shifted in his body at the intense gravitational shift. Alone, Selvor laughed once more, blood flying out of his mouth and staining the golden hue of his hair before the night fell silent and still.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: [HiddenInWhiteLight: Are you still up for betaing? The last I heard of you, you were swamped from school so i didn't want to bother you ]

Don't forget to leave a review! Feedback is essential for improvement after all. And this chapter made me want to shoot myself sometimes. [By the way, do you guys like the story cover I made?]

Late Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.


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